The Price of Loving You
by PrincessVictory
Summary: The Angels have decided that Joshua was right all along, and plan to erase Shibuya. Joshua, having stayed in the city several months after his decision to spare it, has come up with a plan to save it. But he needs time. So he transports himself and the four Players to another dimension, our very own planet Earth. But will his power alone be enough to save them? ShikixNeku HIATUS
1. Road Trip!

**A/N: Hey guys, here I am again! And this time, it's not Pokéshipping! XD This'll be my first TWEWY fanfic, and I actually started writing this before playing the actual game (Thanks to the TWEWY wikia and Kingdom Hearts 3D XD)! I thought I would have to end up warning you that I haven't played before, but I finally managed to get ahold of it and see what it really was! :) Still, I do hope the characters aren't OOC, since I don't know them completely, and if there's anything nickname-wise I should change, don't hesitate to let me know! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the story, and please R & R :D P.S. Joshua is my favorite ;D**

**Disclaimer: Dang it, if I was Joshua I could probably get away with saying I own Shibuya and all of the TWEWY cast, but sadly, I'm not and I don't! :P Too badXD**

Chapter 1: Road Trip!

"They're what?" Joshua asked, wide-eyed and slightly paler than usual. While it was rare for even the greatest challenge to faze the young Composer, Hanekoma's news was too important to dismiss. "Why would the Angels want to do that?"

"They're afraid you may have been right from the start. According to them, Shibuya's just getting worse," Hanekoma replied, shaking his head.

"But you and I both know that isn't true, Mr. H. We see Shibuya change every day ever since Neku and the others were brought back."

"Now you see how I felt when you decided to erase it." The thoughtful look on Joshua's face did little to surprise Hanekoma, like it would've so many others. "You've already got a plan, eh?" Joshua smirked.

"I'm afraid I'm not willing to admit that, Mr. H. You'll see though. Soon enough." He turned for the door but paused, as if realizing he forgot to mention something. "Oh, and if you would, tell Neku and the others to meet me at the Statue of Hachiko at noon today. If they ask why, tell them I have…a surprise."

He smiled, stepping out into the busy streets of Shibuya. Streets he'd gotten quite used to over the past few months. While Shibuya did have its flaws, Joshua still failed to understand why the Angels would choose _now_ to erase it. Sure, he thought the same thing when he made that bet with the Conductor, but it'd changed a lot since then. At least, Neku and the others had.

Which was why he must save them, before the Angels destroyed them as well. He made his way down the street, not really looking for anything in particular, as his plans weren't to happen till later on in the day, and ran straight into Shiki. She looked slightly distressed, but he couldn't imagine why. "Shiki? Why, fancy seeing you today. You look troubled," he pointed out, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, Joshua! I-I'm fine! Just…fine." She averted her gaze, knowing Joshua could tell that she was lying.

"Shiki Misaki, you and I both know that's not true. What did Neku do this time?" he asked, crossing his arms and tapping his foot expectantly.

"Well…" she trailed off, unsure of what to say. "He told me he had a crush on Eri."

"Oh." Despite humans and their wishy-washy hearts, Joshua was _not_ expecting that. _But Shiki was his entry fee,_ he thought, scratching his head. He had to be lying. But why?

Joshua rolled his eyes, recalling something he'd once told Neku: "_Understanding people isn't hard, Neku… It's impossible." _Guess he'd hit the mark with that one. But sympathy, while it wasn't past Joshua, was certainly not one of his strong suits. He shrugged his shoulders. "So?"

"_So?_ Wow, Josh. For someone so omniscient, you sure can be clueless," Shiki answered, rolling her eyes and chuckling softly.

"Well, I made you laugh, didn't I?" She considered that, finally nodding her head in compromise. "Oh, reminding me! I want to meet with you and the others at the Statue of Hachiko today at noon. Would you mind letting them know in case they don't see Mr. H today?" Shiki nodded again, smiling warmly.

"Sure will. What's it for?" she asked, though she didn't expect a straight answer from the boy. No one ever did.

"Oh, you'll see," he grinned, giggling lightly before turning away. "You'll see."

* * *

"What're we meeting here for anyway?" Neku asked, looking over at Shiki, who quickly averted her gaze.

"He didn't say."

"Typical Prissy Kid." The sky was blanketed lightly with clouds, threatening nothing but a break from the bright sunlight, and the scent of flowers pervaded the entrance into Shibuya Station. Hachiko's statue sat peacefully in the midst of all the daily chaos, as it had become quite the meeting place for the people of Shibuya. However, at the moment, no one was there aside from Neku and his friends, which he found quite strange.

After waiting a few more dreadful minutes, Joshua finally showed up, looking calm and collected as always. But Neku could tell something was up. He'd _never_ called a meeting at the Statue of Hachiko before. Ever.

"You're probably wondering why I called you all here today, and I want to start off by sharing some…unsightly news with you, if you please."

"This better be good," Neku mumbled, rolling his eyes. He'd turned down the chance to hang out with Eri and Shiki for this.

"Depends on your definition of good," Joshua answered, frowning slightly. "As you all know, a few months ago, I'd wanted to erase Shibuya for how evil it had become. I later changed my mind, thanks to Neku's change of heart. This time, I'm afraid it isn't me who wants Shibuya destroyed." He paused, waiting for a reaction from the rest of the group. Shiki gasped.

"But who would want to destroy Shibuya now? I know it isn't perfect, but it's _so_ different from the way it used to be!" she exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Yo, Pretty Boy, she's right! Why would they wanna do something like that?"

"Well, the Angels have decided it's only gotten worse since I made my decision to spare it. They plan on erasing it tonight."

"But we've gotta stop them!" Rhyme chimed in, crossing her arms.

"Yeah!" Beat agreed wholeheartedly with his younger sister, and wasn't afraid to admit it.

"Yeah? Well how are we supposed to do that? These are _Angels_, for Angels' sake!" Neku, ever the cynic, pointed out, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"As much as it pains to me to say this, Neku's right. These aren't just some low-vibe Reapers we're dealing with. Which is why I have a plan." He came a few feet closer before continuing with his explanation. "I'll need every single one of you to help, in order for it to work."

He kept inching closer, which was something Neku found quite odd. "What're you up to, Joshua? I'm not sure I like the looks of this."

"Just close your eyes and count to ten. It'll be over before you know it, Neku. I promise." His words, laced with an ether of the strongest sort, enticed the four into giving in. Neku, with the strongest Imagination, could tell what was going on, but had little power to stop it.

It was unfair to Neku how much power the Composer had, considering he apparently had enough of it to erase all of Shibuya. And now, he saw, the Composer had a power with words. He shut his eyes unwillingly, starting his monotonous count to ten, as the others already had. Joshua had executed the first part of his plan perfectly, so it was time to put the next step into action. Focusing every last speck of power he had, a blinding white light appeared seemingly out of nowhere, enveloping the entirety of the group along with Joshua, and took them to a dimension far, far away from the city of Shibuya they'd so lovingly called home.

* * *

Trees. Lots and lots of trees. That's the first thing Neku noticed when he finally reached consciousness again. _Where…am I?_ He scrambled to his feet, his body still tense and fatigued from the sudden dimension shift. At least, he guessed that's what Joshua had done, despite the drugged murkiness that clogged his thoughts.

Plus, the trees kind of gave it away. He looked around, trying to figure out where in the universe they'd ended up, and spotted Joshua just a few blocks away from himself and the others, who were still unconscious from the shift. Joshua was fully awake, undoubtedly having never lost consciousness in the first place. He was staring up at the sky, which was a bright cloudless blue. He probably wished to fly away, if only for a while.

Neku knew about his wings. None of the others did, but he'd seen them, out of the corner of his eye the day he and his friends met for the very first time at the Statue of Hachiko. The first time he'd seen Shiki Misaki for her true self. She still had Mr. Mew, and Neku couldn't help but stifle a laugh. She looked so different, but not in a bad way.

She was still Shiki Misaki, his first true friend ever since the accident that had turned his entire world upside down. He sighed, the memory almost faint compared to all he'd been put through since, and by the Composer, nonetheless. And yet, he still trusted Joshua. Fully and totally. But that didn't mean he had to like him.

"Where'd we end up this time, Josh?" he asked, thinking back to how they'd ended up in Sora and Riku's "dream world" less than a month ago. Joshua turned to face him, his violet eyes glistening in the world's effervescent sunlight.

"Oh, you're finally awake! Excellent timing, too. This means the others should be up in no time," he commented as he strolled over to where Neku was standing.

"Where'd we end up, Joshua?" he repeated, hoping his persistence would earn him some kind of answer, no matter how vague it ended up being.

"Well, not according to plan, I'll tell you that. But, this world works just as well as the other," Joshua replied, smiling over at the stubborn boy.

"Josh, don't play with me like this!" Neku exclaimed, Joshua giggling in reply.

"You should see the look on your face."

"Hm, haven't heard _that_ one before," Neku snorted, grabbing Joshua by the collar. "Tell me where we are, Josh. I don't wanna play your stupid guessing game!"

"Or you'll what? You don't have the heart to _kill_ me, Neku Sakuraba. You proved as much in our little game to determine Shibuya's fate when you _refused_ to shoot me."

"Oh yeah? Just because I won't kill you doesn't mean I won't hesitate to break a few fingers," he acidly replied, gripping Joshua's collar even tighter.

"What an asinine way to look at things," chuckled Joshua, unable to contain his laughter any longer. Neku hated that stupid laugh, mocking him in every possible way. The owner of the laugh was just as condescending. He lifted his fist, ready to teach Joshua a little lesson he wouldn't soon forget, when he heard a voice scream his name.

"Neku! Just what do you think you're doing?!" He dropped his fist, as well as Joshua's collar, before answering.

"Uh, nothing at all, Shiki," he lied, hoping she wouldn't notice.

"Yeah, nothing but trying to punch the Pretty Boy in the face. Real heartwarming, Neku," Joshua scoffed.

"My pleasure, Pretty Boy," Neku taunted, smirking. "Now where are we, Josh? Everyone's awake to hear it. Well, almost anyway." He glanced over at Beat, who was still coming to.

Joshua sighed. No matter how much he'd been around the four over the past few months, he would never understand Neku's obstinate attitude. He just wouldn't give up, would he? Joshua finally relented. "We're somewhere on a planet called Earth. Maya, Alabama, to be quite exact."

Neku was puzzled. What kind of a name was that? "So we're in some random city thanks to you and your stupid teleporting? We should be busy trying to save Shibuya, not stuck in some other dimension while the Angels erase it!"

"Ah, but there's where you're mistaken. Here, time flows at a remarkably slow pace, with about one year equal to less than a day in Shibuya, so Shibuya is in no real danger as of now."

"Really?" Neku sneered. "I never would've guessed."

"So why are we here, Josh?" Shiki asked, hugging Mr. Mew closer as she awaited his vague answers.

"I have a plan to save Shibuya, Shiki. But I need more time to perfect it. In order for it to work, it has to be completely foolproof."

"Yo, if you're gonna save it anyway, why'd you take us with you?" Beat asked, rubbing his head, most likely from the headache Joshua's dimension shift gave him. One of the many possible side effects of shifting while being mortal. Joshua raised an eyebrow, surprised they hadn't already guessed his motive for doing as such.

"Just in case," he stated simply as an officer approached the group of seemingly juvenile school-skipping delinquents.

"Say, what're you doing out of school this time of day?" the officer drawled, his thick Southern accent very prominent to the young Composer and the others. Joshua turned to face the officer. He was thin, though not near as bony as Neku and himself, with thoughtful blue eyes and wisps of dusty brown hair sticking out of his cap. He didn't seem to be much of a challenge, as far as the Composer was concerned, so he opted for the obvious reply.

"Oh, sir, we're new here, and we seem to have lost our way. Would you mind pointing us in the right direction?" he asked, lightly coating his words with his seemingly endless reserves of power.

"Uh…sure," the officer replied, scratching his head. "As soon as you leave the park, go south for about ten blocks, make a right, and you should spot it right away. It's…not that hard to find, really."

"Thank you, officer. Have a nice day," Joshua faked a smile, turning to face the others as the officer absentmindedly went about his way. "Looks like we start school today, everyone."

Neku groaned. As if school in Shibuya wasn't bad enough. Now they had to go to one in an alternate dimension too?

It just didn't seem fair. "Great," he mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Won't they realize we're not from here if we aren't on the school roster?" Shiki asked, eyeing Joshua warily. She too trusted Joshua, but wasn't sure how she _felt_ about him quite yet. He was too intriguing to bother describing in one word. Or even a paragraph really, if she was completely honest with herself.

"That's why we're new, Shiki. They can't refuse us over _forgetting_ to fill out our registration papers. That would be foolish on their part." Shiki nodded. She kind of understood now. And besides, if anyone could get them into school illegally, it _would_ be Joshua.

"Uh, don't we need our birth certificates and stuff? Schools kind of expect those, right?" Rhyme asked hesitantly, putting a finger to her lips and shooting Joshua a confused look.

"Just trust me. I've got it completely under control," he answered. Neku huffed.

"Sure you do. You _always_ do," he added sarcastically. Which technically, he was right. Joshua normally _did_ have things under control, even when it didn't seem like it. He'd never admit that to the arrogant bigot though. Reluctantly following Joshua, the group made their way to Maya High, some finding his narration of the foreign world incredibly annoying, others quite amusing. Neku found it a mixture of both.

"It was named after an old mayor's wife, originally holding the same name of about three other cities in the area. Much of the wildlife is limited to the occasional rabbit or deer, if you live far enough out, and while the artwork isn't near as impressive as Shibuya's, this town still has pretty good taste. Ooh, dibs on the rainbow!" The group glanced up at where Joshua was pointing, and sure enough, a rainbow had formed overhead.

Neku sighed, grabbing Joshua by the arm and dragging him toward the direction of the school. "You can call dibs later, when we're _not_ late for alien school, Josh. It _was_ your genius idea to make us enroll, after all."

"Fine, _Nekky_, no need to get your panties in a twist," Joshua crooned as he pulled away. He brushed his arm off and took the lead once again. Grrr… Neku despised that nickname, especially coming from Prissy Kid's mouth.

"Watch it, Pretty Boy," Neku growled, which earned him another annoying giggle from the condescending Composer.

"Jeez, you guys, you could at least _try_ to get along," Shiki muttered, "Would it kill you?"

"Don't I wish," Neku answered. Shiki rolled her eyes. Boys. They were the most stubborn and obnoxious people in the entire universe. She'd never understand them.

"Well, looks like we're here," she pointed out, looking up at the medium-sized two-story building. It was built of faded blue and yellow brick, presumably the school's colors, with a patio out in the front hedged with flowers of various sorts, mostly pink, red, and orange chrysanthemums. There was a lone rose in the middle of the school property, along with a plaque dedicated to an old principal of the school. Car after car dotted the parking lot, filling up every possible parking space and even spilling over into the grassy area across from the school's baseball and football fields. It had two entrances, and she wasn't quite sure which one to go through. Joshua obviously knew what he was doing though.

He strolled up to the first one, quickly pressing the button for the office personnel to unlock the door. "Come in," the speaker belted out, presumably one of the office aides' voices. Joshua needn't be told twice. He tugged lightly on the handle, holding it open for Shiki, Rhyme, and Beat, but letting it fall shut in Neku's face. Joshua turned toward him, smirking as he opened the door back up.

"Oops." However, Neku could tell he wasn't sorry for what he'd just done. He enjoyed teasing Neku, and as annoying as it had become lately, Neku found he'd rather gotten used to it, and truth be told, learned to find the humor in it. Like he'd ever mention such a thing to Joshua though.

"Wow!" Rhyme exclaimed. "This is _way_ cooler than the middle school back home!"

"Oh yeah, Rhyme's only thirteen…" Shiki trailed off, realizing that Rhyme probably shouldn't be there after all.

"No worries. _They_ don't have to know that, you know," Joshua pointed out, walking into the front office. Neku and the others followed closely behind. He tapped on the glass, attempting to get one of the office personnel's attentions, and succeeded in his efforts when a short blonde girl came up to the glass. One of the aides, he figured.

"Y-yes?" she stuttered. Joshua tended to have that effect on people in a foreign world, especially the girls. _If only they knew the real me,_ he thought, frowning softly to himself. _Then they wouldn't be so eager to know my name._

"Hello. My friends and I"—Joshua flicked his hand in the others' general direction—"are new to Maya, and while we filled out our registration papers, we seem to have forgotten them at home. Would you mind giving us some more?" The blonde girl nodded, shuffling through the desk papers until she found the registration sheets she'd been asked to look for. She held up a finger to let him know she would be back, and went to make copies in the next room.

She came back pretty quickly, handing him exactly the amount needed for all of _four_ people. "Excuse me, ma'am," he said, attempting to disguise his accent to that of the Southern twang the locals used. "But I believe you're miscounting. There's only _four_ sheets, and I'm pretty sure there are five of us." The blonde peered through the glass, a confused expression on her face.

"Yes, I see that. But the little one… She looks a little young to be in high school. I thought she was a middle schooler."

"Well, you're roughly mistaken, ma'am. She's Beat's younger sister, and she's a freshman this year," Joshua replied, again taking on a more Southern vernacular.

"Ah, that explains it," she answered, smiling. "Freshies always look like middle schoolers to me. Here, let me go make one more copy." While she was gone, Neku and the others glanced down at their registration papers.

"This is going to be impossible, Josh! Why don't you just use your magical Composer powers and poof us into the computer?" Neku asked, glaring up at Joshua.

"I'm afraid that isn't exactly one of my powers, Neku," he replied, smirking. "Besides, that wouldn't be any fun. And it gets you out of the classroom an extra hour. I'd take it, if I were you." Neku rolled his eyes. Did Joshua always have to prove a point like that?

"Fine," he growled. "But you better not be lying, Pretty Boy." He took a pen and started jotting down the information they asked for. Lucky they didn't ask for a parent signature. They'd _never_ be able to explain that one.

_We'd just end up forging it anyway,_ Neku thought, smiling. Beat and Shiki did the same, while Joshua handed Rhyme his copy and waited for hers. When the blonde girl came back, she handed Joshua the final paper. "Sorry to make you wait. Uh, what did you say your name was again?"

"Joshua," he replied, opting for his more universal name. Yoshiya tended to offer a slightly _different _reaction on Earth, one he didn't much care to repeat.

"Oh, Joshua. Nice to meet you. I'm Tiffany," she told him, twirling her hair through her French- manicured fingers. He looked for a fifth pen, but noticed there wasn't another on his side of the glass.

"Uh, Tiffany, was it? Would you mind handing me a pen? There doesn't seem to be enough on the counter."

"Certainly," she answered, plucking a pen from the desk and handing it over, carefully making sure her fingers brushed against his.

"Thanks." He was unperturbed by her light attempt at flirting, knowing the devious game well enough to understand its mechanics. She thought he was attractive, and that was about as far as he would ever let it go, since he never felt like that toward anyone himself. Why bother leading her on, like so many other boys would? He was a murderer, not a heartbreaker.

_What's the difference? _He snorted, knowing that's just what Neku would've told him. _It's still killing someone emotionally to break their heart. _But, while that logic wasn't completely past Joshua, he thought it simply best to ignore it. Besides, he didn't regret killing Neku. Not the first time. Not even the second.

If he hadn't, Shibuya wouldn't have changed like it did, he'd never have met these four, and Neku would've never become someone he could almost consider a friend. _Hm, a friend. Never had one those before,_ he thought, writing down his real name. _At least... _"Hey, what's our address, Neku? It completely slipped my mind," Joshua asked, glancing back at the boy. Neku glared at him.

"Uh, I don't"—Joshua raised an eyebrow, his violet gaze penetrating Neku's train of thought—"I mean, here, I'll write it down for you," he grimaced, taking Joshua's sheet and scribbling down his address. "Jerk," he added, handing it back to him.

"Thanks, Neku. Knew I could count on you," Joshua smiled warmly as he started back on his own papers. Neku shook his head. Completely pointless of Joshua to do that. But Neku never understood Joshua anyway, so why start now?

Shiki finished first, setting down her pen and handing Tiffany her papers. Tiffany glanced down at them, seemingly confused.

"Shiki Misaki?" she asked, her Southern accent singing Shiki's name rather than saying it. "But, Shibuya's in Japan isn't it?"

"Uh…" Shiki had no idea how to reply.

"Actually, her paper's just fine. Isn't it, Tiffany?" Joshua countered, once again lacing his words with his persuading powers. Tiffany nodded slowly, going over to the computer and beginning to type out Shiki's information. "Also, the others' papers are as well," he added, passing his and the ones Neku had just finished through the glass.

"Certainly," she nodded again, coming back and taking the next set of papers. "Yoshiya Kiryu?" she asked, not recognizing the name out of the bunch. The first blond boy was Joshua, the second was Beat, the redhead was Shiki, and the carrot top was Neku, but…Yoshiya?

"Oh, that's me," Joshua answered, "Joshua is just what Mother and Father called me." Tiffany scratched her head, but didn't question it. Rhyme was next to finish hers, and finally, Beat handed his over as well. When Tiffany saw Beat's, she barely stifled a laugh.

"Daisukenojo Bito? Wow. No wonder they just call you Beat," she commented, mispronouncing Beat's first name. "And Raimu is the little sister, I'm guessing. How sweet." Beat shook his head.

His parents had to give _him_ the complicated name. Raimu was definitely much simpler than Daisukenojo, and he'd never be able to live it down, not even in another world. Tiffany quickly typed the questionably vague information in, printing out the schedules as each one was registered and handing them to Joshua, who willingly passed them out.

"They have math here too? What's up with that?" Beat complained, pointing to his first class of the day.

"Says the boy who got stuck in the _easy_ class," Rhyme remarked, comparing their schedules. "You're lucky. You have Algebra 1B; I'm stuck taking the entire class. Hey, we have P.E. together!"

"Well, at least we have Physical Science together. And Home Ec.," Neku pointed out, comparing his and Shiki's schedules. "And I have P.E. with Rhyme and Beat, by the looks of it." Joshua was the last to receive his schedule, and seemingly less willing to share its contents. "Well, what's on your schedule, Josh?"

"Eh, probably completely different from yours," he answered, waving the question away. Truthfully, he had a class with either Shiki or Neku in every block except the first.

"Then it wouldn't hurt to tell us what you got, _Joshy,_" Shiki teased, smirking over at the young Composer. Joshua rolled his eyes, amused by her newest nickname for him.

"Fine. Well, I have Geometry first. And then I have English second—"

"So do I!" Shiki chimed in, smiling enthusiastically.

"I have American History third"—Neku couldn't suppress a groan with that one. He just _had_ to have a class with Pretty Boy, didn't he?—"And fourth I have Home Economics, with both of you."

"Ugh, I'm always stuck with the Pretty Boy, aren't I?" Neku remarked, shaking his head.

"Look at it this way, Neku. At least you'll know someone in all of your classes!" Shiki pointed out, laughing softly. "Plus, you might find some friends, so you're not _totally_ stuck with Josh." Instead of lifting his spirits like she'd intended, her words drug his mood even further down.

Friends. He hated trying to make those. It's a wonder he'd befriended the four he had. Well, _three_. He still wasn't sure what to consider Joshua.

He was his partner, making him his friend and trusted ally. But he was also a betrayer, his killer, his enemy. That would make him…a frenemy? Whatever. It didn't matter much at the moment.

"What class are we in now?" Joshua asked, glancing up at the clock.

"Uh, should be the middle of second…" Tiffany answered, sifting through the desk papers for the bell schedule. "Ah, here it is!" She lifted up a bright yellow paper, looking slightly pleased with herself. "Yep. Second period ends at 11:13."

"What kind of a random time is that?" Neku asked, running his fingers through his spiky orange hair. "What happened to 11:15? Or 11:30? How the—"

"Thank you, Tiffany," Joshua answered, interrupting Neku's latest complaint.

"Oh, no problem. Would you like someone to show you around? I'm sure one of the student ambassadors would love to help you." Joshua considered it for a moment, then nodded in reply.

"That would be great."

"Alright then, hold on a second, and I'll get them to send Sarah down," she answered, smiling at Joshua as she walked over to the intercom and pressed the button. "Sarah Greene, come to the office. Sarah Greene."

"Is she also a tenth grader?" Joshua asked, glancing down at the pen he was twirling through his fingers.

"Eleventh, I think. She's normally the guide for a lot of newcomers though." Joshua nodded, drumming his fingers against the counter to a melody he'd thought of earlier.

_Rat-a-tap ta-tap ta-tap. Tap ta-tap ta-tap._

"Yes, Tiffany?" he heard a girl asking as he swerved in her direction. She was about as tall as Shiki, with light, wavy brown hair and dark hazel eyes. As soon as she noticed Joshua, her entire expression changed. Joshua met her gaze, but she quickly looked away and started fidgeting with her t-shirt hem. However, he knew it wasn't for the same reason Tiffany had.

She wasn't shy or nervous because of how cute he was or anything. And it wasn't because of his odd-colored eyes or Neku's crazy orange hair, either.

Then why was she nervous?

_She knows, _Joshua realized, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. _She knows _everything.

She looked up momentarily, and this time it was Joshua's turn to gape at her in disbelief. _No, it can't be… Can it? She looks just like her…_

_Nisai?_


	2. Getting the Hang of Things

Chapter 2: Getting the Hang of Things

"And that's Coach Ryan's class. He's the tenth grade history teacher here," Sarah explained, pointing at the last door in the hallway before turning to face them. "So, any questions?" She hadn't brought up that she recognized them yet, and it slightly baffled Joshua. _She knows, but hasn't said a word. Why? _He just didn't understand.

_Maybe Earth's humans _are_ smarter than the Angels give them credit for,_ he wondered, his eyes wandering aimlessly up the faded yellow brick walls. He then noticed the random string of obscenities on a school locker and quickly changed his mind. _Or…maybe not._

"I can take you to class if you want me to, Shiki and Joshua, and everyone else can just come with me to the gym, since I have P.E. second block, too."

_Her voice sounds just like hers too… _Joshua shook his head. _But it can't be her… She… disappeared decades ago._

"I—"

"Sure, Sarah! Sounds good to me," Shiki replied, interrupting Joshua before he could decline the offer, like she thought he was about to do.

"Great!" Sarah clasped her hands together, beaming a smile at the bubbly girl. "Follow m—"

"Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to you for second, Sarah. Alone, preferably," Joshua cut in, giving her the sweetest smile he could muster so he wouldn't seem too suspicious. She gave him a questioning look, but finally nodded in consent.

"Can you guys find your way to the gym?" she asked, glancing over at Neku, Rhyme, and Beat. Neku sighed. What could Joshua possibly want this time? Rhyme smiled and said she would take the boys with her. "And Shiki—"

"I'll run to the bathroom, so you can still take us to class when I get back," Shiki answered, taking off before Sarah could even think of a reply. As soon as the group was out of earshot, Joshua let out a disgruntled sigh.

"What is it, Yoshiya?" Sarah wondered, but quickly regretted it when she realized she hadn't bothered to _ask_ his real name first. Oops.

"You know what it is, Sarah. Just _saying_ my name proves it. You _know_ us," he replied, glaring over at her.

"What? Yoshi—I mean, Joshua, what are you talking abou—?"

"Sarah, you know us. From that _game, _right?_"_ he told her, saying it like the game was the worst kind of poison. "Why haven't you said anything yet? I don't understand it! Most people would've _mentioned_ it by now."

"Well, I'm not like most people, Joshua. You should know that, since you've already figured out this much," she bit back. "You _are_ the Composer, after all."

Joshua shook his head. She was impossible to figure out. And she still couldn't help but remind him of that one person he so desperately wished to forget about.

It was completely silent in the hallway, save for the echoes coming from Mrs. Morgan's ninth grade theatre class down the hall, who was currently experimenting with their latest hands-on activity.

"But why didn't you say anything?" Joshua pressed, eyeing the girl carefully. He'd learned the hard way not to trust people's most apparent motives, and it wasn't something he cared to repeat.

"Why didn't I? Well, for one, I didn't really wanna freak out Neku and the others. I kind of figured you'd be able to guess that much, you know. For the most powerful guy on Earth right now, you sure don't have the slightest clue. Has anyone ever told you that?" Joshua ignored the question, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I don't understand," he said.

Sarah rolled her eyes with aversion. "Do I really have to spell it out for you, Josh? You certainly aren't the brightest crayon in the box. Oh yeah, you're _pink," _she chuckled, earning a glare from the young Composer. "Also, I kind of thought it'd be best if you _didn't _know that I recognized you. I.e., the conversation we're having right now? Yeah, it would've never happened. But don't expect others to be so _secretive_ about it."

Despite his earlier misconceptions, it hadn't occurred to him that she wouldn't be the only one to figure it out. "I wouldn't worry about it though. People here are typically too busy getting _high_ in the bathroom or selling drugs in the hallways to notice anything. Either that or they just aren't smart enough to put two and two together. And it's not like _everybody _at Maya High has played _The World Ends with You_. In fact, most of the kids who _are_ smart enough to figure it out have never even heard of the game, much less played it. At the very most, Katherine will probably figure it out, but other than that, any other gamers will probably just mention that you look like, well, Joshua from _The World Ends with You_."

He had to admit, she proved some pretty solid points. "And knowing Katherine, she might not even figure it out, considering she's never played it. She only knows about it because of how much I talk about Josh—I mean, how much I talk about the game," she answered, covering up her tiny fangirl _faux pas._ She still hadn't told him how _she'd_ figured it out.

"But, if you're so sure about this, how did _you_ know?" he asked, glancing down the hallway to see if Shiki was on her way back yet. He knew each second was more precious than the last when it came to getting the answers he wanted. And he _had_ to have those.

"Easy. I put two and two together. Like I said, I'm not like most people, Josh. I'm not a genius or anything, but I _know_ what I see, and I see you. I'm not saying 'seeing is believing' or anything like that, because I definitely believe in God and Jesus and all, but I _am_ saying that if it _can_ be seen, then it _must_ be real. Like one of those proofs Mrs. Lay made us do in geometry last year. I _know_ you're Joshua Kiryu, a.k.a. the annoying, arrogant, condescending fifteen-year-old Jesus dude who has the power to make or break a person. Literally," she told him, smiling softly as Shiki rounded the corner.

Joshua had a headache. He understood, but her logic sounded so much like his own that it kind of hurt to think about it too much. Only one other person had ever been able to match his wit, and it was getting harder and harder to forget that person with this girl around. He'd finally found another crazy know-it-all, and he wasn't sure he fathomed the idea, especially if it meant getting a migraine after every conversation they had. At least she wasn't Earth's Composer. That might've just complicated things.

"And when others see us, that's when we start to exist, no?" Joshua smirked. He had to hand it to her, taking one of it his own quotes to prove her point was pure genius. Pure, crazy genius. "So, ready to head to class, Shiki?" she asked as the girl with the stuffed cat approached them.

No more answers for Joshua. Not now, anyway. Not that he needed anymore; she'd satisfied him for the moment. And given him that stupid headache. But it dissipated as quickly as it had come, leaving him only slightly less irritated at Sarah.

Yet she'd impressed him, and not many can say that. In fact, less than a handful could admit such a thing. Shiki nodded her head, and Sarah smiled, clasping her hands together again. "Wonderful! Now follow me. Miss Carden's class is just down the hall."

She started toward the room, the other two trailing closely behind. Shiki could plainly see the irritated expression on Joshua's face, and wondered what Sarah might've told him to annoy him like that. He normally _never_ got angry or aggravated, and at least when he did, he didn't show it. "Josh, you okay?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, I'm fine," he answered, waving the question away. "Just…thinking about things."

"He's just irritated because I gave him a headache," Sarah replied, rolling her eyes.

Joshua narrowed his eyes at her. How did she know that? "It's gone, thank you. But how did you—?"

"Lucky guess," she muttered, but he knew it was more than that. "I'm sure you do the same thing to Neku when you talk to him like that." She laughed, realizing she'd just compared the Composer to his own pawn, proxy, and Player. Joshua rolled his eyes. She certainly knew him better than he thought she did.

"Ah, here we are." She stopped three doors down from where they'd been standing and knocked at the door. Without waiting for an answer, she opened it to reveal a class of typical Maya High tenth graders. And a few eleventh graders who _intelligently _decided to fail tenth grade English the year before. Her own cousin was even in the class.

Half were asleep, either because they were done and got bored or simply never started their work to begin with, and the other half were busy either passing notes, chattering away, or flicking paper across the room. Her cousin was in the latter half, along with her newest crush, a.k.a. his best friend.

"Miss Carden?" Sarah solicited. The short, raven-haired English teacher/cheerleading sponsor looked up from her computer, recognizing Sarah's voice. "You have some new students."

"Oh! Wonderful," Miss Carden replied, smiling. "I'm Miss Carden, and I teach tenth grade English here at Maya High School. You are?"

"Shiki Misaki," Shiki answered, beaming a smile right back and hugging Mr. Mew tighter out of nervousness.

"Joshua Kiryu," Joshua told her, opting yet again to leave off the whole "Yoshiya" explanation.

"Nice to meet you two. Just find a seat, and I'm sure one of the students will gladly tell you what we've been working on." Miss Carden gestured toward the seats in front of her. Sarah glanced back at her cousin, giving him a barely noticeable I'll-kill-you-if-you-don't-help-them look before saying goodbye and walking back out the door.

"Uh, I'll tell you, I guess," her cousin said as Joshua took the seat in front of him. "I'm Daniel, by the way. Sarah's my cousin." As if Joshua wanted another know-it-all Greene. He could barely handle _one,_ forget _two._

But then he realized that Daniel had no clue who they were. "You two do favor," Joshua remarked, nodding his head as Shiki tossed a grammar book on his desk.

"Page 134 numbers one through twenty," she told him, taking the seat across from the Composer and flipping open her own book.

"Oh, she's adopted," Daniel mentioned.

Joshua raised an eyebrow. _Adopted?_ _But then…?_

"So her last name isn't really Greene?" he asked, glancing back in Daniel's direction.

"Well, legally it is, but no one's sure what her real last name was," Daniel answered, scratching his head. "She knows her mom's name, but…" he trailed off, trying to recall the rest. "I can't seem to remember it."

_Then that means… No, it isn't. It _can't_ be possible._

But it would explain how she knew. And as much as he wanted to discard the thought, he couldn't help but wonder. Curiosity tended to get the better of him, as witnessed by his many misadventures that usually resulted in someone's death. Particularly Neku's. _And Nisai's…_

He flipped open his textbook, and upon finding the page number, giggled in amusement. "Seriously? Subject-verb agreement? Isn't that supposed to be taught in elementary school?"

"Just shut up and do it, Josh. It's not that hard," Shiki snapped, rolling her eyes at his enjoyment of it all.

"Fine," Joshua mumbled. "Could I borrow a pencil?"

Shiki sighed. Did he really expect her to have one of those? She had to borrow hers from some girl named Courtney. "Mmm, sorry Joshua. Guess I left mine in the other dimension," she answered sarcastically. Daniel looked confused by her answer.

"Ha ha, very funny, Shiki. Daniel, do you have one?"

Daniel shook his head. "Borrowed mine from Emily."

_Does anyone have a pencil in this entire classroom?_ Then he saw someone slide a pencil onto his desk. He looked up to see a raven-haired, brown-eyed boy with glasses. He dressed quite differently than the other students, preferring a collared shirt and shorts over the usual t-shirt and jeans, Joshua noticed.

"Thanks," Joshua muttered, looking down at the dark blue mechanical pencil.

"No prob. Name's Cole," the boy told him, taking the seat across from Daniel.

_Hm, Sarah mentioned a Cole when she was showing us around… _"Tuba player?"

Cole nodded. "Sarah told you?"

"Yeah, she mentioned it, I think," Joshua answered, picking up the pencil. He then realized he had no paper. "Uh, Shiki—?"

"Nope. Can't say I have any." Shiki knew he was going to ask, but again, who has the time to grab paper before being sucked into another dimension?

"Great," Joshua groaned. Daniel tore a piece from his notebook and handed it over.

"Here you go." Joshua nodded, taking the paper and writing his name on it. He decided to put down his real first name, since he was registered in the system with it, and started working on the sentences. He was finished in a matter of minutes. After turning in his and Shiki's papers, he attempted to hand Cole back his pencil, but was abruptly refused.

"Trust me; you'll need it way more than I do," Cole urged. "I've got plenty where that came from." Joshua just shrugged his shoulders, taking the pencil and dropping the subject. He glanced over at Shiki, who was chatting away compulsively with an auburn-haired girl that had braces. At least one of them had found a person to talk to.

"So where're you from, Josh?" Daniel asked. Joshua turned his attention from Shiki and considered his answer before giving one.

"Oh, Shibuya," he told him, deciding the truth would be the best route to go for now. At least it was also a city in the country of Japan on Earth. Funny coincidence.

"Isn't that in Japan?" Cole wondered, cocking an eyebrow at Joshua. Joshua nodded. "You don't really look that Japanese to me." _That's because I'm not._ But like he was about to admit _that._ "Plus, Joshua's Hebrew."

"Oh, that. Mother and Father called me that, but my real name is Yoshiya." Cole nodded slowly, as if it finally clicked.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Joshua finally spoke up again. "You'll see Sarah again today, right?" Both nodded, curiosity quite apparent on their faces. "Could one of you tell her I need to talk to her later? Ask her if she could meet me at Maya Park at four?"

"No can do, Josh. We've got Scholar's Bowl practice till four-thirty. I can run her by when we're done, I guess," Cole told him, crossing his arms. "But why do you want to talk to her?"

If Joshua didn't know any better, he'd have sworn Cole sounded a bit _protective_ about the whole thing. But Sarah clearly said they'd had a mutual hatred for each other since last year. Guess she just _thought_ Cole hated her. Obviously he didn't. "Sure, that'd be great. And I needed to ask her something about… Ehhh, joining the band?" Joshua immediately regretted his words.

"Oh, you can just talk to Mr. Baker about that," Cole answered, crumpling Joshua's excuse into a metaphorical paper ball and throwing it away. "What instrument do you play?"

"Uhhh… Trumpet, mostly." He could also play the flute, but he highly doubted admitting that would get him anywhere. With Cole and Daniel, anyway.

"Oh. Dang it. We have like a billion of those already! Play anything else?" asked Cole.

Joshua sighed. Looked like it wasn't going to be one of his lucky days.

"Well, I play the flute…" Joshua trailed off, glancing over at the two boys.

Daniel burst out laughing. "No, seriously. What else do you play?" he asked. Then he realized Joshua was being serious. "Oh. Well, my girlfriend Ariel plays flute, and so does her cousin Courtney," he told him, gesturing over at the auburn-haired girl Shiki was chatting away with. "But I've never heard of a _guy_ playing one before."

Exactly why he hadn't brought it up. Joshua sighed. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"But hey, we need as many as we can get for concert season!" Cole brought up, attempting to lift Joshua's spirits. "We're supposed to be doing musicals this year for the spring concert. And isn't Sarah singing one, Daniel?" Daniel nodded in reply.

"Yeah. Mr. Baker asked her to sing something out of there…" But clearly he had no idea what the name of it was.

"Anyway, ask Mr. B about it sometime today and he should be able to get your schedule changed to band. Does the girl wanna do it too?"

"Uh…" Joshua had no idea if Shiki could even _play_ an instrument, let alone if she'd _want_ to. "I don't really know, Cole."

* * *

"Rhyme, are you sure we're going the right way?" Neku groaned, shaking his head impatiently. "I swear we've passed the same classroom five times already!"

"Sure, I'm sure, Neku! The gym can't be _that_ hard to find!" she snapped back as she rolled her eyes.

"Need a little help?" Neku swerved to face the perky guide girl they'd left not ten minutes ago. "Don't worry; I'm going to the gym anyway!" Sarah exclaimed as she beamed a smile in Neku's direction. Grabbing Rhyme by the arm and gesturing for the others to follow, she easily navigated the hallways until they'd reached the other end of the school, where the gym was located.

"Here we are!" She let go of Rhyme's arm, clasping her hands together and nodding at the double doors that led to the school's gymnasium. Apparently the hand-clasping was a bit of a habit. Not that Neku or the others paid much attention to it anyway. She tugged on the doors, holding one open so the trio could file in first.

"Boys' locker room on the left, girls' on the right," Sarah added, pointing in the two general directions. "But you don't have to dress out today, since you're new and all. Hey, there's Coach Andrews now!" She waved over at the coach, who motioned for them to come over and introduce themselves.

"New students?" questioned the coach. Rhyme nodded, smiling up at the portly man. He wasn't much taller than her, with light blue eyes and even lighter brown hair. He seemed to be in his early thirties. "Names?"

"Oh, um, I'm Rhyme, and this is Beat and Neku," she answered, pointing at the two boys beside her.

Coach Andrews handed the grade book to her and told her to add their names at the end of the second block list, so he wouldn't have to check the computer. She scribbled the three names down, making sure to write in Beat's nickname instead of his real first name. Rhyme was about ninety-nine percent positive that the coach wouldn't even be able to read his name in such small lettering, let alone pronounce it correctly. When she'd finally finished, she handed the book and pen back, then took a glance around the gym.

They seemed to be…dancing? No, that couldn't be right. Could it?

"Ballroom dancing," Sarah clarified, noticing Rhyme's confused expression. "It's not that hard. Come on; I'll show you! I don't have a partner yet anyway. Neku?"

She looked over at the boy, who looked like he'd much rather die a _third_ time before stepping foot out there. "No. You are _not_ making me do that."

"Beat, will you be my partner?" Rhyme asked, staring up at her big brother. Beat nodded, reluctantly giving into his littler sister's request.

"Yo, Greene, how long does this dancing thing last anyway?" Sarah sighed.

"About a week." She shot daggers at Neku, knowing she had to get to him to dance or she wouldn't have a partner. And Sarah plus no partner equals a failing grade in gym class. She _hated_ failing. "Come on, _Nekky._ It's not that hard."

"Calling me that isn't helping, just so you know," he replied, glaring over at her icily. "Gah, you're with Joshua five minutes and you're already just as freakin' annoying."

"Well, guess it must've rubbed off," Sarah answered, shrugging her shoulders. "Anyway, are you coming or not? Look at it this way: you could dance with me, a girl who at least knows your first name, or some random chick who's probably about as intelligent as a goldfish. Your pick."

_Or I could just _not_ dance at all,_ Neku thought, but decided against voicing that aloud. Instead, he relented. "Fine. It better not be any longer than a week, or I swear—"

"Great! We've got a lot of catching up to do!" Sarah exclaimed, grabbing Neku by the hand and dragging him toward the center of the gym floor, where Beat and Rhyme had relocated to. From what she could tell, Coach Andrews had pretty much already caught them up. Either that, or they already knew how to dance from previous experience.

"Okay now, just watch me the first time. I promise it's nowhere near as hard as it looks." Neku rolled his eyes and sighed. This was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

"Seriously? Over a _button_?" Joshua asked, glancing over at Shiki. Courtney checked out, so Shiki had decided to join in Joshua's conversation with Cole and Daniel.

"Well, I'm sorry, but that button was driving me crazy. And it only took a minute…" muttered Shiki. Joshua sighed. No more wearing buttons around Shiki, that was for sure. Not unless he _wanted_ the world to see him in his underwear.

"So you made a guy strip in public to sew a _button_ back on his shorts? And he actually _did_ it? Wow," Cole said, shaking his head.

"It's not like anybody could see us any"—Joshua shot her a look that let her know she was about to go a little too far—"I-I mean, it's not like we were actually _in_ public. No one was around to see it. He'd come over to my house to pick me up, and well, I saw the button and made him take his pants off so I could sew it back on. No big deal." Shiki shrugged her shoulders.

Cole raised any eyebrow at her, completely unconvinced by her spur of the moment cover-up. "But I thought you said it was in public?"

"Uh, well, it was—"

_Briiiiiing._

_Saved by the bell,_ Joshua thought, smiling diffidently to himself. Taking Shiki's hand, he pulled her toward the door before Cole could question her any further about the Button Incident. "That was almost _too_ close, Shiki," he muttered, to which she replied with a sigh of annoyance, particularly directed at herself.

"I know. Jeesh, sometimes I wish more people knew about the UG. Then it wouldn't be so complicated to explain. Or to get out of explaining."

"Just… Be more careful. What do you have next?"

"Fashion design. Finally, a class that I actually _want_ to go to! They didn't offer this over at Shibuya, you know."

"I'm sure… Well, here's my stop. Have fun, I guess," Joshua answered, waving to Shiki as she disappeared farther and farther down the crowded hallways. He checked his paper to make sure the room numbers matched, and then reluctantly made his way inside.

"Hey! You've got history too?" He turned toward the direction of the voice, and found Daniel and Cole waving him over toward them. Apparently they had this class with him as well. Joshua took the seat in front of Cole, right across from a redheaded girl with blonde highlights and bright blue eyes. She was sporting an Alabama hoodie similar to Daniel's, and her hand was noticeably twined with his. Joshua guessed she was the girlfriend Daniel had been talking about earlier.

"Looks like it. You must be Ariel," Joshua answered, smiling tentatively over in her direction. "I'm Joshua Kiryu." He extended his hand to shake hers, but quickly retracted it when he saw the irritated look Daniel was giving him.

Ariel laughed. "Don't let him scare you, Josh. He's just playing," she told him, rolling her eyes. Cole clapped Joshua on the back.

"Oh yeah, Ariel, Josh's gonna join the band."

"That's cool! What do you play?" she wondered. Joshua sighed.

"He plays the flute," Daniel replied, "Just like you and Courtney."

Ariel seemed a bit confused. "Well, the more the merrier, I guess." Clearly it wasn't very common for a guy to play a flute in Alabama, to Joshua's surprise. "How long have you been playing?"

"Hm… I've been playing trumpet about…" he trailed off. Truthfully, he'd been playing for at least a few _decades_, but he definitely couldn't tell them that. "Ten years or so?"_ There, not a total lie,_ he thought, _At least I managed a decade._ "I picked up the flute a few years later."

_More like about a decade later. _"I also play piano, but I just picked up on it a few years ago." _About a decade ago. _Ariel looked shocked, and so did Cole and Daniel. Had he said too much? "Did I…?"

Apparently the confusion he felt was pretty evident on his face, because Cole waved their reaction away and said, "No, you're fine. Normally people don't start playing instruments here till around sixth grade, when they're allowed to start beginning band. So you've been playing pretty much since you were six?"

"Well, I guess you could say that," Joshua answered ambiguously. Cole looked as though he were about to ask something else, but was unfortunately interrupted by the teacher calling roll.

"Yoshiya…Kiryu?" Coach Ryan called, not only mispronouncing Joshua's name but also dragging each vowel out with his thick Southern drawl. Joshua sighed. _At least he got the Kiryu part right, even if it doesn't sound like it._

"Here," Joshua answered, glancing over at the heavily built history teacher. He was incredibly tall, with dark brown hair and even darker eyes; he looked like he was in his late thirties. Coach Ryan cut his eyes in Joshua's direction, finding a face to put with the voice he'd just heard.

"You're new here?" Joshua nodded.

"Most people just refer to me as Joshua," he told him, to which Coach Ryan responded with a light chuckle as he turned to face the computer's roll list once again.

"Neku Sakuraba?" he drawled, scratching his head when no reply was given.

_Where's Neku at?_ Joshua wondered, shaking his head. _Probably wandering the hallways, lost as a wild animal in the middle of the big city. _After waiting another answerless minute or so, he continued roll call until every name had been said. He then stood up and wrote on the board the assigned work for the day, and started passing out a set of worksheets to go along with the chapter. That's when Neku showed up.

"Is…this…Coach Ryan's class?" he asked, looking down at his schedule, then back up at the history teacher.

"Neku?" He nodded. "Find a seat. Here's the work for today." Coach Ryan handed him some of the worksheets as he searched for an empty seat.

The farthest one from Joshua he could possibly find. But, to his dismay, the only open seats were in front of Joshua and some redheaded chick with an Alabama hoodie on, who so happened to be sitting across from Joshua anyway. He chose the seat in front of the girl.

"Oh, this is Neku. He's… An acquaintance of mine. Neku, this is Ariel, Daniel, and Cole," Joshua told him, gesturing at each of the three teenagers.

"Nice to meet'cha!" Ariel exclaimed, smiling.

Daniel attempted to show off his strength by shaking his hand and nearly squeezing Neku's hand to death. "Hey, buddy. You okay? You look a little red in the face."

Cole just laughed and gave a curt "Hey there." Ariel rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry about Daniel. He's just trying to scare you."

"Hmph." Neku was tired of it all. So far, he'd already been forced to dance by some crazy chick, and even offered drugs in the bathroom! Now he had to do history work about a country he'd never even heard of? And be surrounded by completely new people who actually _tried _to be his friends?

Nah-unh. Not gonna happen.

"Neku, at least _act_ like you care," Joshua whispered in his ear, in that ever patronizing tone of his.

"But I don't. So why should I?" Neku grunted.

Joshua rolled his eyes. "Fine. But you'll never make any friends at this rate."

"So what? It's not like I need any. I've already got Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme. Three friends is enough. Less friends means less to lose."

Why had he just said that? He _never_ admitted anything like that to anyone, let alone to _Joshua_, the Prissy Kid who murdered him for his own selfish reasons. _Twice._ "You can't let that kind of attitude keep you from being friends with someone, Neku. Everyone dies at some point, and life goes on, with or without them."

"But it didn't have to be so soon!" Neku snapped, whirling to face Joshua. "He didn't have to die like that!" Neku shook his head, forcing himself not to shed a single tear. "Gah, just shut up and leave me alone!"

"Neku—"

"I said shut up!"

"Fine," Joshua conceded, turning to face their confused classmates. "Everyone loses someone special in their life. Even I have." Then the subject was dropped, leaving an angry yet curious Neku, three very baffled-looking teenagers who were lucky enough to hear the entire argument, and a slightly perturbed, solemn-faced Joshua.

_Nisai… Why does your memory still haunt me?_

* * *

"Exactly what I thought this would be!" Shiki squealed, holding up her newly finished light blue blouse to show Mrs. Alexander. She wasn't a very tall woman, and looked to be in her late forties, with bright blue eyes and straight, shoulder-length, dirty blonde hair. Not only was she the Fashion Design teacher, she also taught Home Economics and was the Senior Beta Club sponsor for the school. She was also over Miss Maya High, a pageant held every March at the school. "Though it'd probably look _way_ better if Eri had designed it."

Shiki frowned. It hadn't even been a day, and she already missed her best friend. This was even worse than being in the Game. At least she could still _see_ Eri then, and even got to _be_ her during week one. Well, got to _look_ like her, anyway.

She could never be Eri, and even though she once wished she could be, she didn't anymore. She liked being who she was.

Mrs. Alexander took the garment from her, examining everything Shiki had done. "Looks like it could be found in a store, which is exactly what I was hoping for. The stitching is so small and precise, and while the design's a bit plain, that won't matter very much. Wonderful job, Shiki!"

Mrs. Alexander patted her back and handed the shirt over to her once again. Shiki smiled. _This class isn't so bad at all!_ She glanced over at the other students, most of who were still working on their design for the day. One in particular seemed to be fighting against her sewing machine though.

_And it looks like the sewing machine's winning._ She strode over to the nervous-looking redhead. "Hey, need a hand?" The girl looked up, her big brown eyes hesitantly meeting Shiki's. "Here, try this."

Shiki readjusted the bobbin, and after a few more tweaks and alterations, the sewing machine was back to running the way it was supposed to. The girl looked amazed. "Th-thank you," she stuttered, still staring at the now working machine.

"No problem. My name's Shiki. You are?" The girl was quiet for a moment before speaking up again.

"I'm Kimmie," she answered, smiling tentatively over at Shiki.

"Well, Kimmie, I have a feeling you and I are going to be great friends this year," Shiki told her, returning the smile and taking the nearest seat to the nervous redhead.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I'm finally back! :) Lost Internet for a while, so tonight I'm posting two chapters instead of one to make up for it! Hopefully you guys are enjoying it! I'd really enjoy any comments you may have, so leave a review if you would!^.^**


	3. Lunchtime Conversations

Chapter 3: Lunchtime Conversations

"Whoa." Rhyme was amazed by the size of Maya High's lunchroom. It was still pretty small in comparison to a lot of places in Shibuya, but it was definitely bigger than Shibuya Middle School's cafeteria. She and Beat wound up in first lunch, the biggest of the three lunches at Maya. Many of the students went to first because they left for Wyatt County Center of Technology straight afterward, where they practiced the many professions Wyatt County had to offer outside of Maya, such as welding, health science, graphic design, and carpentry.

"You're telling me!" Beat exclaimed, searching the room for empty seats. He finally found a pair, off toward the corner of the cafeteria, surrounded by a group of the WCCT students, mostly in carpentry. "'Ey, anyone sitting here?" he asked, glancing at the two guys sitting across from him. One was blonde, with dark greenish blue eyes and a black stud in his left ear. The other was a strawberry blonde with dark brown eyes and a minor acne problem.

"Nah, man," the blonde replied, swishing the hair out of his eyes, clearly out of habit. "But who're you?"

"The name's Beat," he answered, taking a seat.

"And I'm Rhyme," Rhyme told them, sitting beside her brother.

"Well, I'm Chris," the blonde said, "and that's Josh." He nudged his friend in the arm, who was currently too busy flirting with a girl across the cafeteria to notice the newcomers.

"What is it, Chris? Oh, hey, you two. Uh…" He leaned over to whisper in Chris's ear. "Who are these guys? And what are they doing at our table?" Rhyme rolled her eyes.

"You know we can hear you, right?" she asked, earning a laugh from Chris and a playful glare from Josh.

"Psh, please. You know I'm just kidding! Of course I know who you are! Uh…"

"Rhyme," she told him, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "And you're Josh." Josh gave her a confused look.

"Chris, did you tell her my name?" asked Josh dubiously. Chris nodded, chuckling at his friend's ignorance.

"If you'd been paying attention, you'd know," he pointed out, smirking.

"Funny, we have a friend named Josh, too…" Rhyme trailed off. "He's the reason we're here at Maya." The two raised an eyebrow at her. Clearly she'd said a little too much. "Uh, I mean, well—"

"Friend? Rhyme, Josh's our cousin, remember?" Beat quickly lied. "We're staying with him and his family till Mom can find a house out here."

"Oh yeah," she sighed, relieved by Beat's save. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out he was lying, but she could tell he'd pulled the wool over Chris's and Josh's eyes. Sarah, however, would've been a different story.

"Anyways, I'm gonna head on up to the library. See you guys later," Chris told them, picking up his empty tray and walking away.

"But it's lunch, right? Why would you go to the library?" Rhyme asked, directing the question at Josh, who was just finishing up his lunch also.

"Well, I go up there with him because he's my buddy, but he goes up there to see Sarah," he answered, shrugging his shoulders. "I think so, anyway. Even if he _is _with Kristen."

"Sarah?" Rhyme wondered out loud. "Sarah Greene?"

Josh nodded, picking up his tray. "Yeah, you know her?"

"We've met," Rhyme told him, glancing over at her unusually quiet brother.

"Well, why don't you come up there with us?" Josh offered. "If you're not gonna eat, that is." Rhyme looked down at his plate, trying to figure out what was even for lunch. The remnants of food on his plate didn't look very appetizing, and neither did the soupy remains at the bottom of his Styrofoam bowl.

"Yeah, I think I'll pass on the food..." Rhyme murmured to herself. "Wanna come, Beat?"

Beat shook his head. "Nah, Rhyme. Can I take a rain check? You know me and libraries don't get along. There's just _so_ many books…" Rhyme frowned. "But go on. I know you want to. I'll be fine here."

"Alright. But if it gets too boring, well, you know where to find me," she answered, hugging her brother before standing to follow Josh out one of the four blue cafeteria doors. The library was located just a flight of stairs above the lunchroom, so it was pretty easy to find. Especially with Josh showing her where to go.

It wasn't as big as the cafeteria, but it was definitely more spacious. The back wall was covered in hordes of fiction novels, and the right wall shelved the nonfiction works. Various bookshelves were scattered through other parts of the library, with labels for research, biographies, collections, and historical pieces that didn't fit with the other nonfiction books. To her right were five empty rows of computers, set up specifically for student research, and to her left were two green chairs and a light blue couch, all of which were filled.

Chris and Sarah were sitting in the chairs, and a raven-haired girl was lying on the couch, undoubtedly sleeping. After signing in, Josh grabbed a chair from the computers and plopped down between Chris and Sarah, both of which looked kind of irritated by his sudden interruption. Rhyme followed his example, taking a chair and sitting beside Sarah, who smiled at her wanly. "Hey, Rhyme. I see you've found some of my friends. Don't worry; if they're a friend of mine, I promise they won't bite. I can't say the same about everyone else at Maya High School though."

"Gosh, I hope Beat's okay," Rhyme breathed, glancing over at Sarah.

"Trust me; Beat's gonna be just fine. He can take care of himself, Rhyme. As long as he doesn't get caught up with the wrong crowd, anyway. And speak of the devil," Sarah said, nodding her head in the direction of the windows that encased the front wall of the library. Rhyme turned to find Beat making his way up the stairs, looking slightly angry, if not completely enraged.

He tugged on the library's double doors and stomped in, his eyes immediately searching the room for his little sister. "What happened?" she asked once his eyes found hers.

"I _don't_ wanna talk about it, Rhyme," he snarled, crossing the room and slumping down against the magazine shelf right next to her. Rhyme sighed. There was no getting through to him. Not yet, anyway.

Sarah rolled her eyes and laughed. "One of the guys probably said something they shouldn't've about you while he was around. Maya guys typically don't think before they speak." Josh nodded. "Or act," she added, glaring over at Chris, whose face turned a light shade of crimson.

Rhyme looked over at her brother. Sarah had hit the nail on the head. Beat slowly lifted his head to meet her gaze and nodded. "I swear, if I hear another word out of those _perverts_ I'll—"

"Shhhh!" Ms. York, the librarian, chastised him, looking up from her computer. "I don't need to hear your conversation all the way from my office. If you're going to continue being loud, I'm afraid I'll have to send you back to the lunchroom. Please, be a bit quieter." She then resumed typing, much to the group's relief.

"Anyways, as I was saying—" But before he could finish, the bell had cut him off.

"Time to go already?" Rhyme asked, glancing over at the others.

Chris nodded and stood to go. "Yeah, guess it is. There's never enough time in the block," he answered, "See you later, Sarah." Josh trailed after him, leaving Beat and Rhyme with Sarah.

"Guess we'd better get going then. Come on, Beat." She grabbed his arm and helped him up, then took her chair back over to the computers and strolled out the door.

* * *

_Briiiiiing!_

"Wait, is it fourth already?" Joshua asked, glancing around at the other students who were closing their books and rushing out the door.

_Don't I wish,_ Neku thought, looking over at Ariel, who shook her head in reply.

"Lunchtime, you guys. Let's eat!" She shut her own history book and stood up, twining her fingers into Daniel's as they made their way to the door. Joshua and Neku followed along, Joshua busy chatting away with Cole and Neku shutting himself out from the rest of the world. The cafeteria was located in the center of the school, a story below the library and just a few steps down from the main lobby.

When they walked in, Joshua noted how clean it was, despite the fact that students had already eaten in there once that day, not fifteen minutes ago. He also noticed how quickly the seats were being filled. At Maya High, there were three lunches, since there wasn't enough room to cram five hundred fifty students into a cafeteria with less than a two hundred seat maximum. Joshua and Neku were lucky enough to have second lunch, the least crowded of the three. Joshua scanned the faded yellow brick room, looking for prospective places to sit, as well as checking to see if any of the others also had second lunch with them.

He never found Shiki, Beat, or Rhyme, and there weren't any seats open next to Daniel, Ariel, and Cole, or he would've sat with them. He did find seats though. Right next to the crazy genius who had been smart enough to figure out their true identities. As much as Joshua loathed the idea, he'd much rather sit with her than with some of the other less intelligent human beings at Maya High. Also, Sarah's continual reminder of _her_ kept his curiosity peaked. He pointed at the seats, and gestured for Neku to follow him.

Neku's eyes quickly found where Joshua was pointing. "Really? Crazy Girl again?" Joshua shrugged. He couldn't say he disagreed with Neku's nickname for her.

"Any better ideas?" asked Joshua sarcastically. Neku didn't reply. _Clearly not,_ Joshua thought, taking Neku by the arm and walking toward the empty seats. Sarah was too busy talking to a guy (or a _girl_?) to notice. She was fairly pale, with stormy gray eyes and brunette hair cut off to the length of a boy's, which was what led Joshua to assume she _was_ one at first glance.

She was a very…animated girl, to say the least. Almost as bouncy and happy-go-lucky as Sarah, if not more. _Well, as long as she isn't one too…_ Joshua cut his eyes in Sarah's direction, and took the seat beside her, allowing Neku the reprieve of sitting beside the other girl, who gave them both a very confused look. Sarah's eyes drifted over to his, with a very amused look in them.

"Oh, Josh! Hello there!" she exclaimed, beaming a smile in his direction. The girl continued to give him a baffled expression. Sarah looked over at the girl, noticing her confusion, and decided to explain. "This is Josh, and that's Neku. They're new here at Maya. Josh, Neku, this is Kelcy Parks, our drum major. She plays French horn in the band when she isn't conducting. She's also one of the leaders of First Priority, like DJ and myself."

DJ, as Joshua had figured out earlier that day, was Sarah's nickname for her cousin Daniel, for whatever reason. "Oh, nice to meet you," Joshua said, nodding his head in Kelcy's direction. "Right, Neku?"

"Uh, yeah. Whatever. I'm going to get lunch." And with that, he stood up and made his way over to the lunch line that had slowly started to thin out. Joshua noticed that not many people ate lunch at Maya, including Kelcy and Sarah.

"Is he okay...?" Kelcy asked, glancing over in Neku's direction.

"Just slightly more ticked off than usual," Joshua replied with a lazy shrug.

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, but he's always been that way."

Just how much did she know about Neku and the others? The game could only teach a person so much about their likes, dislikes, passions, personalities and memories. Right? Just then another girl came into view, Styrofoam lunch tray in hand.

She was also a brunette, with long curly locks framing her heart-shaped face and dark brown eyes. She took the extra seat on the other side of Kelcy, who stared down at the tray of food in disgust. "Vegetable soup. Yum," she said sarcastically as the girl broke a few crackers and dropped them into a bowlful of what resembled pig slops. _So this is why they don't eat the food here._

He didn't much fathom the idea of eating _that_ either. "Oh, I almost forgot! Katherine, this is Josh!" Sarah exclaimed, clasping her hands together excitedly. "Josh, Katherine also plays the French horn in the band. Kelcy taught her everything she knows."

"Nice to meet you. Hmmm… Have we met before? You look kind of familiar…" _Uh-oh._

"You've probably seen me around here before," suggested Joshua. "I passed through here not too long ago with Mother and Father." Sarah gave him a look that said, _sure you did._

"No, that's not it," Katherine answered, racking her brain for a memory that continued to escape her. "Ah! I know it now! You look like that kid on Sarah's phone! The one that's on the game she's wanted to play so badly lately! Funny, his name was Josh too…"

Wait, so Sarah _hadn't_ played the game yet? Joshua sighed. "Yeah, funny coincidence." So how did she know? None of it was adding up.

He turned toward the lunch line, which had dwindled down to about five or six people, with Neku at the front and a cup of tea in his hand. Apparently he'd decided against getting any food. But wait, Neku didn't have any money. At least, no American money. "Uh, Sarah, how much is tea?" Joshua asked, gesturing over at Neku.

"Fifty cents." She then noticed the look Joshua was giving her. "Oh. I'll be right back." She stood up and went over to Neku, who looked like he'd rather not have Crazy Girl sent over to him.

"So, how's Maya treating you? Made any new friends yet?" Katherine asked, her thick Southern drawl very apparent in the question.

"Well, I wouldn't call them friends, necessarily," Joshua chuckled lightly. "But I have made a few…acquaintances."

"Oh, like Sarah?" Kelcy wondered, nodding her head in the girl's direction.

"Eh, kind of," admitted Joshua. "Mainly her cousin Daniel. And Cole and Ariel."

Kelcy laughed and shook her head. "They haven't scared you off yet? It's a wonder," she pointed out as Sarah and Neku made it back to the table.

"By the way, Katherine, this is Neku. Neku, Katherine," Sarah said, gesturing back and forth at the two.

Neku took a sip of tea and sat back down. "Hey, I guess."

"Don't worry about him, Katherine. He's just…getting used to things around here," Joshua told her, glaring over at Neku.

Katherine waved it off. "It's okay. Least he hasn't been offered drugs in the bathroom yet. Noah swears up and down to this day that he was offered some in the upstairs bathroom his very first day." Neku almost spit out his tea. Katherine laughed. "Maya High School—where the students are higher than the grades—"

"And the drug dogs know it!" Kelcy finished, laughing along with her.

"Well, I wouldn't say _that_…" Sarah trailed off. "Oh, who am I kidding? The only kids who _aren't_ busy getting high in the bathrooms are the ones too lazy, too smart, or too pregnant to do it. Well, that or they dip instead."

Obviously Maya High School hadn't been the smartest choice, as Joshua had come to realize.

But it was too late to transfer now. "Trust me, not everyone's like that, Josh. It's just an ongoing joke my friends and I have had ever since the last lockdown we had and the drug dogs sniffed out at least seven or eight druggies in the school. I promise, as long as you're smart, you'll be just fine. And I _know_ you're smart, Prissy Kid." Sarah winked at him.

Katherine raised an eyebrow. "Next thing you know he'll be screaming 'dibs on the rainbow,' Sare. Are you sure he isn't the real thing? You aren't gay, are you, Josh?"

Neku burst out laughing. He was really starting to like this girl's brusqueness.

"Neku. Shut. Up. Now." Joshua sent an annoyed glare toward Neku.

"Katherine! How many times have I told you that Joshua _isn't_ gay?!" Sarah exclaimed, slamming her hands against the table.

"And how many times have I told you that _Joshua_ is a flaming fairy?" Katherine was trying not to join in with Neku's laughter, but a small smile couldn't help but grace her lips. Neku couldn't stop laughing.

Kelcy was having trouble containing herself as well. "Sarah, you realize that every time you defend this guy you end up giving us more reasons to tell you he's gay, right? He's definitely gay, Sarah. Just admit it."

"Just because his nickname is Prissy Kid and he randomly screams 'dibs on the rainbow' sometimes doesn't make him gay! Even if he is _Pink."_ She added that last bit for Joshua, who smirked at her in mock disappointment.

"Way to defend your case, Sarah," he pointed out. "Now you're pretty much taking their side, not to mention convincing them that I just _might_ be gay. I'm starting to question it myself."

"Thanks for the sarcasm, Josh. Really needed that. What do you think, Neku? You've known Josh at least a bit longer than us. Gay or not?"

"Well…" He knew Joshua wasn't gay, but why not have some fun with the whole thing? He had nothing to lose. "Josh, you _do_ have a tendency to scream 'dibs on the rainbow' a lot, and you _did_ nickname yourself Pink…"

"Neku, tell me you're not taking their side?" huffed Joshua, irritated. Neku smirked in reply. "Well, I don't know about this other Joshua you're talking about, but I promise I'm one hundred percent heterosexual."

_Wait, other Joshua? What is he talking about?_ Neku would have to remember to ask about that later.

They still weren't convinced. "Are you sure, Josh? It's okay if you're not. The light's brighter outside of the closet, you know," Kelcy jested, chuckling softly.

"And where there's light, there's always lots of _rainbows!"_ Katherine exclaimed while the others roared with laughter once again.

"Well, obviously if I'm seeing rainbows now I must've never gone inside the closet," Joshua pointed out.

"Sure, sure." Katherine waved him off. "We mainly do it to tease the crap out of little Miss Fangirl Number One over there, who's flat out _in love_ with the guy. Even if he _is_ a video game character." Joshua watched Sarah turned the brightest shade of crimson, brighter even than the rose t-shirt she was wearing.

"Flat out in love with me, eh? And when did you plan on telling me this?" It was his turn to wink at the brunette, who giggled awkwardly in reply.

"Am not, Katherine! Or should I say _Paige?"_ Sarah countered, raising an eyebrow and glaring at her. Kelcy stared at Sarah in shock.

"Did you just call her—?"

"Yeah, sure did. Hey, at least I didn't call you _Koala."_ She smirked, winking over at her friend.

"My name is _Kelcy!_" the said brunette protested. Sarah couldn't help stifling a laugh.

"They're totally insane," Neku pointed out, to which Joshua let out a sigh of exasperation.

"I don't think there _is_ such a thing as sane here, Neku. At least there's never a dull moment," he answered, smiling tentatively. "Now what's this whole story behind Koala and Paige?" Before he could get an answer, however, the bell had rung for them to return to class. Dull, boring history class.

Well, at least he wouldn't be accused of being gay in there.

* * *

"Time for lunch!" Jessica exclaimed, grabbing Kimmie's hand and practically dragging her out the door along with the rest of the class. Jessica was Kimmie's older sister, a brunette Shiki had met not long after befriending Kimmie. The girls almost looked like twins, aside from the difference in hair color. Both were about as tall as Shiki (though Kimmie was actually a few inches taller), and had limber frames, much like Eri's.

Shiki trailed behind the two. "What's for lunch today?" she asked, trying to catch up to Kimmie and Jessica.

"I think soup. Sarah did say she wasn't eating today, so it must be soup day," Jessica answered, shaking her head.

"You know Sarah?" It seemed like every person she'd talked to that day was a friend of the quirky brunette's.

"Of course I know Sarah! She's my O.A.C.B.F.F.L.T.A.L.F.B.!"

_O.A.C… Huh? That acronym's entirely too long…_

"Uh… What does that stand for?"

"Old And Crumbly Best Friend For Life That Also Loves _Fruits_ _Basket,"_ Jessica told her. That still didn't explain very much, as far as Shiki was concerned.

"_Fruits Basket_ is a manga that they both like, and well, Old and Crumbly's a bit harder to explain…" Kimmie trailed off, scratching her head. "Sarah came over to stay the night one night, and there was this thing on Facebook that would show you how you'd look when you got older. She asked Jessie if she wanted to see, and Jessie said to her, 'I already know what I'm gonna look like when I get older. Old and crumbly!'"

"Sooo it's been like that ever since?" Shiki asked. Jessica nodded, and Kimmie did too.

Shiki glanced around, realizing that they'd finally made it to the cafeteria, and quickly figured out why Sarah didn't eat the soup there. It resembled spoiled leftovers more than it did edible food. Kimmie went to the back of the line, while Shiki followed Jessica to their seats.

The lunchroom was pretty big, in Shiki's opinion. It was shaped like an L, with faded yellow brick walls and white tile covering the floors. Four or five whitewashed pillars dotted the cafeteria, built as extra support for the floor above, and the ceiling was tiled in off-white shingles and rectangular lights. The line was secured by blue railing, in an effort to prevent skipping, (something Maya High students did regularly, despite warnings and write-ups made or given against it) and it curved two or three times before reaching the end. There were rows and rows of tables, each seating about twelve students.

They were lucky enough to sit at a table full of guys who dipped. While they were eating. What was Joshua thinking by bringing them here? Sure, Shibuya's people could be a bit selfish at times (herself included), but it was nothing compared to the drug-infested, dirty minded students of Maya High School. _Well, not everyone's like that._

She had found quite a number of people who weren't, and hopefully they outnumbered the ones who were. As if. She was greeted at the table with a few odd looks from the guys, and a very loud, very vibrant "Who are you?" from one in particular.

He was incredibly tall and skeletal thin, with jet black hair and chocolate-colored eyes. Apparently he was a friend of Jessica's, as he sat with her and a few other girls rather than sitting by the others. Shiki grinned, realizing how strange she must appear, sporting such a plain green and white outfit and hugging Mr. Mew to her chest. "I'm Shiki. You are?"

"Corey Martin," he told her, returning the smile. "Liking it here so far?"

"Well, it's definitely…different…from my old school," Shiki managed to say.

Corey nodded. "It'll take some getting used to. Where are you from?"

"Uh…" _What do I say? Shibuya or…? _"Oh, nowhere you've ever heard of."

"I might have," he retorted as Kimmie walked over and took the seat across from her sister.

"I guess you could have. But I doubt it," Shiki answered. "Ever heard of Shibuya?"

Corey's face fell. Of course he hadn't. Just like she'd said.

Shiki sighed. "Looks like Neku and the others don't have this lunch after all…"

"Who?" Corey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You mean those other new kids? The redhead, the blonde, and his little sister?" Kimmie asked, sprinkling crackers into her less-than-edible soup.

"Well, that's three of them. Neku, Beat, and Rhyme, but there's also Josh. How did you know, Kimmie?"

"Oh, I have P.E. with them. Sarah brought them in there while we were dancing last block," Kimmie pointed out.

Shiki snorted. "Neku? Dancing? Now _this_ I have to see," she chuckled. "Wait, with who?"

"He danced with Sarah, since she didn't have a partner yet. It actually looked okay," she pointed out, taking a bite of her grilled cheese. For some reason, the remark struck Shiki the wrong way. Her face felt hot and was slowly turning a deep shade of crimson. Kimmie seemed to notice Shiki's annoyance and quickly waved it away.

"Don't worry, Shiki. Sarah doesn't like Neku," she told her. "She likes a guy named Cole Smithson."

"Oh, Cole… He was in my English class, I think," Shiki answered, breathing a sigh of relief. "Black hair, glasses, kind of a smarty pants?"

Kimmie nodded. "Sounds like Cole to me." Just then, a brunette with blonde-streaked bangs made her way up to their table. She looked pretty angry, from what Shiki could tell.

"Jessica, tell that _friend_ of yours she'd better leave Chris alone. Thanks to her he's ready to break up with me again," she snarled, glaring down at Jessica and Kimmie.

"I thought you guys had broken up though? That's what you told Sarah…"

"Yeah? Well, I told her a lot of things. I also told her not to tell him anything, but she didn't listen to _that_ very well either. Tell her she'd better back off, or else," she replied acidly, swerving back in the direction of her own lunch table.

"Who was that? And what did Sarah do?" Shiki asked when the girl was out of earshot, very confused by the whole situation.

"That was Kristen McNeal, Chris Stilton's girlfriend. Chris is…a good friend of ours," Jessica muttered, turning back to face Shiki and the others. "And she told Chris that Kristen was with her ex-boyfriend James. She shouldn't have, and she knows that now, but it's not like that'll change anything now. Even apologized to Chris for it."

"Shouldn't she be apologizing to Kristen though?"

"Yeah, but it's kind of hard to when Kristen won't even look her in the eye or give her the time of day. She did tell him to apologize for her, but that didn't work out too well either."

"Oh." Shiki couldn't help but be slightly amused by the whole thing. "I thought she liked Cole?"

"Well, she liked Chris last year, before she'd even really met Cole. She still does, kind of."

_Briiiiing._

"Time to go to fourth. See you later, Corey and Shiki," Jessica told them, waving as she stood to go, dragging Kimmie with her.

"Fourth, so that means Home Ec..." mumbled Shiki. "This should be interesting."

* * *

**A/N: And chapter 3 is now up!:D *gasps* What do you think is gonna happen in Home Ec.? ;) Don't forget to review! :) Also, I wanna thank Sissy for being such a wonderful editor and friend!:D I know I get lazy on our story, Sis, but I'm gonna do better; I promise! ^.^**


	4. Schedule Change

**A/N: Hello, hello, it's me again!:D I'm sorry this is taking forever, but I've been working intently on a new Pokemon fic and haven't given this a second thought. :/ Chapter 5 should be up much sooner though, so I thank anyone who's been patient enough to wait. ^.^ Also, this chapter has a lot to do with music, since Spring Concert's coming up in my school's band. We're actually performing _Les Miserables, _and I'm actually singing 'I Dreamed a Dream,' which is why I chose the piece. :) If you haven't seen the movie or the musical, you really should, and if you want, I'd suggest listening to the songs when as they show up in this chapter. Anyways, now that I've told you, enjoy this next chapter, and don't forget to R & R!:D**

Chapter 4: Schedule Change

"Finally, a class with Shiki," Neku muttered, stepping through the door and taking a look around. The classroom was unlike any of the others he'd been in, with two people to each desk as opposed to one. It also connected to a kitchen, where their class would be cooking, as well as where Fashion Design class did their sewing. Shiki was already there, waving Neku over to the empty seat beside her. Then Joshua walked in, a smirk on his face more than likely caused by the conversation he'd been having with Cole and Daniel in history class earlier.

"Not so fast," he said, slipping into the seat faster than Neku could even react.

"Josh! I was gonna sit there!" Neku protested.

"Obviously not today, Neku. Don't worry; I'll be getting my schedule changed shortly anyways. I've decided to join the band here. Why don't you sit over there, with _her?"_ he asked, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the only empty seat left. It was beside none other than Crazy Girl herself.

"Forget it," Neku replied. "You go sit by Crazy Girl. After all, _you're_ the one who wanted to talk to her so badly today."

"I know, I know. But that was earlier today," Joshua told him, waving his comment away.

"Josh, could Neku sit here?" Shiki asked. "You _are_ getting your schedule changed, and she is too. Remember? She mentioned it when she was showing us around."

Joshua sighed. "Fine," he conceded. "But only because I won't be in this class much longer anyway." He stood up and, with one last smirk in Neku's direction, made his way over to Sarah's table.

"I swear, he does this stuff _just_ to get on my last nerve," Neku muttered, clenching and unclenching his fists before finally taking the vacated seat.

"That's just Josh for you, Neku," Shiki answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Neku Sakuraba?" Mrs. Alexander called, not recognizing the new name on her roster.

"Here," Neku grunted, slumping down in his seat.

"Yoshiya Kiryu?"

"Here," Joshua replied, raising his hand. "Call me Joshua." Mrs. Alexander nodded, making a mental note of the nickname before checking the rest of the roll. Joshua shut her out, focusing only on the conversation he knew was coming.

"So, I hear you decided to join the band," Sarah piped up. _Bingo. _For some reason, Sarah was refusing to look him in the eye, instead choosing to stare at her twiddling thumbs, which were by far the most active things in the entire room.

"Yeah, did Cole tell you?"

"DJ did. The counselor said my schedule should be fixed by tomorrow. You might want to let her know that yours needs to be changed too. I can ask Mrs. A now if you wanna go up there," she replied, still averting her gaze. Joshua nodded.

"Couldn't hurt," Joshua said, shrugging. "Do they usually mess up people's schedules like this?"

Sarah sighed. "Normally over half the school's schedules are messed up in second semester. Lucky you showed up just in time. Most of the schedules have been fixed by now. She's just taking her time with mine, since mine isn't a 'necessity.' And I _know_ Mr. Baker isn't going to be too happy to hear _that_ one. Come on."

She rose from her seat and gestured for Joshua to follow. "Mrs. A?"

The teacher glanced up at her, a confused look on her face. "They still haven't gotten your schedule changed?"

Sarah shook her head. "Could I make a run to the counselor's office and see if she's got the new one? And Josh needs his fixed too, so could he run with me?"

Mrs. Alexander nodded, sifting through her desk for one of the passes she'd made. After a few minutes with little success, she just waved Sarah and Joshua on. "I can't find my pass, but I don't think they'll ask for one from you, Sarah. Just be sure to come back and let me know if they've fixed it or not."

"Will do, Mrs. A. We'll be back before you know it," Sarah answered, "follow me, Josh." She reached out her hand to grab Josh's arm, but quickly retracted it after she'd realized what she was doing. Why didn't she want to touch him? It was almost like she was _scared_ of what would happen if she did.

_Come to think of it, she wouldn't touch me at lunch either. Or this morning, when she was showing us around. _Joshua sighed. Yet another mystery for him to figure out. Could she really be what he thought she was? Or to be more precise, _who_ he thought she was?

If so, the negative consequences far outweighed the positive. _Though it would be nice to see Nisai again… _Joshua shook his head. He couldn't allow himself to think like that. Not when his main focus should be on his plan to save Shibuya.

He reluctantly followed the brunette out the door and up a flight of stairs to the counselor's office. Before they could walk in however, Joshua stopped her. "Hold on a second. Sarah, is there something that you're not telling me? About how you know us." For a microsecond, he could've sworn he'd seen her flinch, but her surprise was quickly replaced with a stoic look and a shake of her head.

"Nothing at all, Josh. Just don't worry about it," she told him, turning toward the open door and strolling inside. Because there were two counselors at Maya High School, the door she went through led to a small meeting room connected to two separate offices, that of the ninth and tenth grade counselor, Mrs. Hambric, and that of the eleventh and twelfth grade counselor, Mrs. Washington. The meeting room was about half the size of a classroom, with a large oak table surrounded by black swivel chairs, a few bookshelves planted haphazardly against the walls, and a gigantic bulldog painted in between the two office doors.

"Mrs. Washington? You busy?" Sarah asked, rapping at the wall beside the office's open door.

"You're just in time, Sarah. I just finished your new schedule!" she answered, waving her inside. "And who is this?" Joshua smiled at the counselor. She was fairly tall, with dark brown hair straight as a board and even darker eyes. The three-inch silver stilettos added to her slightly above average height.

"I'm Joshua Kiryu. I'm a new tenth grader here," he answered, offering a hand for her to shake.

She accepted it, saying, "No wonder I don't remember enrolling you. Mrs. Hambric must have done it. Did you need something as well?" Joshua nodded.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could get my schedule changed. I decided to join band here at Maya, and they kind of forgot to put that in it," he told her, his voice dripping with his persuading powers as he handed over a neatly folded copy of his schedule.

"Ah, well this should be an easy fix. Just wait here a few minutes."

_Jeesh, what took mine a few days is only going to take his a few minutes?_ Sarah sighed. Maya really was confusing at times. "I'll go let Mrs. A know that they've moved us. I'll be back to show you where the bandroom is in a few minutes."

"Okay," Joshua answered as she disappeared out the doorway.

"So, how do you like Maya so far, Joshua?" inquired Mrs. Washington. "Made any new friends?"

"It's been okay, I guess," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "And I wouldn't call them friends. More like acquaintances, really. I'm sure you know most of them."

"Band kids?"

Joshua nodded. "Every single one of them."

"Well, it makes sense. Our band is possibly the most diverse extracurricular activity we have to offer. So many different ages, not to mention backgrounds and histories. Majority of the band this year is made up of the two middle schools' seventh and eighth graders."

"Yep. Actually, our trumpet soloist this year for the halftime show was a seventh grader named Brandon Weldon," Sarah interrupted, walking back through the office doors.

"Well, I think I've got it fixed, Joshua," Mrs. Washington stated, clicking the print button before continuing. "If something still isn't right, don't hesitate to let me know, okay?" She pulled the schedule out of the tray and handed it over to him.

"Thank you, Mrs. Washington. Eh, see you later then, I guess."

"Yeah, bye, Mrs. Washington," Sarah answered, waving as she and Joshua strolled out of her office and made their way to the bandroom, located on the opposite side of the school, through the gymnasium even. Joshua skimmed the schedule, checking to make sure nothing else had been changed, and luckily, it hadn't. "I just don't understand. They make me wait an entire _week _before getting my schedule changed, and yours took less than a few minutes!"

"Sarah," he giggled, shrugging his shoulders, "surely you have the same powers as I do. You just choose not to use them. Either that or you don't know how."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, her brow furrowing in confusion. "You're the Composer here, not me."

_Hm, maybe she really _doesn't _know… But that doesn't make any sense._ "Maybe," he conceded, dropping the subject as quickly as he knew how. "But you can still be as persuasive when you want to be."

"I guess you've got a point there," she answered, dodging a stray basketball as it whirred past her head. "But anybody can be persuasive. If they're sober, anyway, which knocks off about half the student population here." Joshua rolled his eyes, a tentative grin slowly making its way onto his face. "Well, here we are. Mr. Baker's gonna be so excited to meet our newest, uh, what did you say you played again?"

"Trumpet, but Cole and Daniel and Ariel are determined to throw me on the flute instead," he told her, giggling lightly.

"Yeah, that sounds like those three. We certainly have enough trumpets. Another flute would be nice. Actually, another low brass member would be the absolute best."

"Eh? Well, I could always learn a new instrument, if need be. I'm a quick learner, after al—"

"Great! Mr. Baker is definitely gonna wanna hear that! Come on!" Without thinking, she grabbed Joshua's arm and pulled him toward the bandroom's double doors. Joshua suddenly felt a jolt of electricity shoot up his arm, harsher than any sort of static, and jerked away.

"What was _that_?" Joshua hissed, glancing down at his arm to make sure it wasn't burnt from the shockwave.

"Uh, oops." Sarah glanced down at her own hand, also surprised by the shock it'd given her as well. "I'd been meaning to avoid that."

_So she _does _know! _"Sarah, you're a Composer too, aren't you?" Joshua inquired, glaring up at her questioningly. "Answer me."

"Wh-what? I swear, all I knew is that I wasn't supposed to touch you! I didn't know something like that would happen, honest! I'm not a Composer, Josh!" she exclaimed, averting her gaze so he wouldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes. "Don't you believe me?"

_So now she doesn't know?_ "It doesn't explain why you… did that," he told her, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently. "You have to be one. Either that or you're…"

"But—"

"We'll talk about this again later. Your Band Director is expecting us, I'm sure."

Sarah nodded, thankful for the change of subject. "I won't do that again; I promise. Mr. Baker!" she called, walking through the double doors of the bandroom, Joshua trailing behind her. "You have a new student!" The bandroom was almost as big as the cafeteria, Joshua noted.

To the right were rows of cubby holes halfway along the wall, cut off abruptly by lines of instrument-filled band lockers. The back section of the room was taken up specifically by the percussion, as seen by the percussion cases, heads, and drumsticks scattered around the general area, along with the large pile of percussion music stashed in the lockers for (safe?)-keeping. The wall directly beside him was covered in smaller band lockers, mainly used by the trumpeters, flutists, and clarinetists. From what he could see, the band had already started setting up for concert season, the percussion having put up all of their marching equipment (well, put up as in tossed it to the side) and set out instruments such as the timpani, marimba, xylophone, chimes, and the concert bass and snare drums.

About thirty chairs were lined up in a perfect concert arc, yet Joshua also seemed to notice that the entire bandroom was _empty._ "Where is everyo—" Then he noticed a door leading to Mr. Baker's office, where he presumed everyone had went.

"Here," Sarah said, gesturing for him to follow. She rapped on Mr. Baker's door until one of the other band kids finally let her in.

"Finally decide to join us, Sarah?" he heard a gruff voice ask.

"Mrs. Washington took _forever_ to get my schedule changed. By the way, Mr. Baker, this is Josh."

Joshua peered through the doorway, wondering who all was in there that he hadn't already met. He noticed a sandy-haired kid with glasses holding an alto saxophone, a percussionist with a crew cut, and a raven-haired boy leaning against his trombone, but other than that, he'd already met all of the other students. Then he took a look at the Band Director.

He was about average height, a bit overweight, with dark sandy brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Definitely someone worth keeping on his good side. The room was pretty quaint, with bright red walls and carpet the exact shade of cement. Shelves of pictures, books, awards, and CDs were leaned up against the walls, and Auburn University paintings and snapshots covered the walls, along with a lone KISS poster, autographed personally by the entire band. A jazz trombone was displayed up against the glass window connecting his office to the bandroom, which Joshua guessed was Mr. Baker's own instrument.

With such a cluttered room, it was a wonder all of the band kids could fit. "Hey Josh!" Daniel exclaimed, greeting the Composer.

"Yeah, hey!"

He was greeted by the various people he'd met through the day, till finally Mr. Baker interrupted with, "Am I the only one who hasn't met you yet?"

"Well, if it counts, Mr. Baker, I've never seen him before in my entire life," the raven-haired boy pointed out, raising a hand in the air.

"Neither have I," chimed in the sandy-haired kid.

"Yes, but you don't count, Noah," Mr. Baker answered teasingly, directing his words toward the sax player.

"I'm Caleb," the raven-haired boy told him, waving. "And as Mr. Baker said, that's Noah."

"And the percussionist is Brad, since I know you haven't met him yet either," Sarah added, nodding her head in his direction.

"So, Josh, what instrument do you play?" Mr. Baker asked, leaning back in his red leather swivel chair.

"Well, I play the trumpet and the flute, but as I told Sarah, I'd be willing to learn anything I'm needed most on. I've heard that you didn't really need any more trumpets."

"Mr. Baker, put him on the tuba!" Cole exclaimed. "You know we need another one!"

"Cole, you know that isn't going to happen. But it would be great if he could join the low brass," Caleb pointed out. "We need as many as we can get, seeing as how there's only three of us right now."

"Well, Josh, what would you say to learning the baritone?" Mr. Baker asked, finally coming to a decision.

Joshua nodded. "I could give it a shot."

"Great! Since you're a trumpet, you'll read treble clef, right?" Again, Joshua nodded in reply. "Sarah, could you go find the extra baritone music and show him where the other baritone's at?"

_Wait, don't tell me…?_

"Already on it, Mr. Baker. But I think the other baritone's messed up," she told him, frowning slightly. "Nothing but air will come out of it."

"Bring it here then," said the band director. "Just set up an extra seat and music stand between you and Caleb. He can read along for today." Sarah left his office and did as she'd been told. Joshua followed behind her.

"You didn't tell me you played a low brass instrument," he whispered as he took the proffered sheet music, extra careful not to brush his hand against hers.

"Well, you never asked." She pivoted on her heel and walked over to the larger band lockers, searching for the broken baritone she'd been telling Mr. Baker about. "By the way, I read treble clef too, so if you need any help—"

"Thanks, but I think I can handle it. The fingerings are the same as a trumpet's, so this should be a breeze. It's not like I haven't been playing for a good three or four decades," he cut her off, waving the offer away. Sarah snorted.

"Just because you've been around a little longer than everyone else doesn't make you one teensy bit more special. In fact, it makes you all the more arrogant. And annoying, Mr. Second Chair." Obviously the comment hadn't come across as degrading as it should have, considering he'd never actually _been_ in band before. Thus, he had no idea what she meant. His confused look further confirmed her theory.

Sarah sighed. "Second chair means you aren't as experienced, or, in the trumpets' case, as good as the person right beside you in first chair."

"Trying to demean me now, eh? Even though I have more experience with my trumpet than even Mr. Baker has on that trombone he keeps put up in his room. Come on, don't you think that's a tad childish?"

"And you do? Try considering me an equal for once, instead of standing on that holier-than-thou Composer pedestal of yours. Then you might see why I act so _inferior_ to people such as yourself," she commented dryly, ending their abrupt conversation with a click of the heel and a knock on Mr. Baker's office door so he could let them back in.

_Just as feisty too…_ Before he could walk back inside the office, however, he heard the sound of people coming from the direction of the bandroom's double doors. _Who's here?_ he wondered, glancing from the high school students in Mr. Baker's office to the clamor of footsteps and loud chattering in the hallway.

"The children are here!" he heard Cole exclaim. "Shut the door, Mr. B! Shut the door!"

_What? Why would they want to do that?_

"Get in here, Josh!" Cole called to him as he slipped through the door, which was quickly shut behind him.

"What's this all about?" Joshua asked, scratching his head. "Aren't those the middle schoolers in the band?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, we do this sometimes to bug them. Mr. Baker goes along with it, so it's not like we can get in trouble or anything," she answered, shrugging her shoulders and beaming a mischievous smile in his direction. Funny how such a familiar face could display so many different emotions at once.

_Nisai… Why did you have to disappear on me?_

_Tap tap tap._ Joshua turned to see one of the middle school kids tapping on the glass window that separated his office from the bandroom. He resembled the sandy-haired kid, Noah, only he didn't wear glasses, and he was a great deal shorter. _He_ _must_ _be_ _Noah's_ _younger_ _brother_.

"Shouldn't we let them in?" Joshua asked, raising an eyebrow at the high school students, who acted like they didn't even notice the boy banging on the glass. Then another started rapping at the door.

Mr. Baker just laughed and said, "Okay, I think we've had our fun for today. Go practice, everyone." The teens all either groaned or complained in reply. All except for Sarah, Kelcy, and Katherine, who were too busy chatting away with each other to protest. "Sarah, hand me the valve oil before you go so I can work on getting this baritone fixed."

"Here you go, Mr. Baker," she replied, handing him a bottle full of the blue liquid. "Come on, Josh. I'll show you where to sit." Joshua noticed it was more of an impulse for her to touch other people rather than on purpose, since she started to reach for his hand. He pulled away before she could, however, and oddly enough, a hurt expression came across her face, if only for a fraction of a second.

That was all Joshua needed to see to prove one of his two theories. _Maybe she really is Nisai after all…_

Nevertheless, she quickly shook it off and gestured for the Composer to follow her to his seat. The middle school kids noticed him almost immediately, and very soon bombarded him with introductions and greetings. Some of the girls even attempted to flirt, he noticed. After meeting the ones he could and trying to sort all the names out in his head, they'd reached his seat, the second chair in the third and final row of the concert arc. There waiting for him was the trombone player, Caleb, and an empty music stand for his own use.

He sat down and started to arrange his music in the order it was written on the whiteboard. Sarah sat directly to his right, her instrument and music already out and ready to use. He also noted the two sheets of vocal music she had, presumably the piece of music that Cole and Daniel mentioned she would be singing. "'I Dreamed a Dream,' eh? Such a beautiful song," he told her, taking the sheet music from her stand and glancing through the notes and lyrics.

"You mean they have _Les Misérables _where you come from?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Of course not. Let's just say I've done quite a bit of traveling in my time," he answered, "I notice some of the lyrics are missing though."

"Yeah, they cut out a few parts to make it 'gender neutral.' Please, it's sung by a brokenhearted _woman_ in the musical. Why would a guy sing it?" Sarah rolled her eyes. Then Joshua began to sing.

"'I dreamed a dream in days gone by, when hope was high and life worth living,'" he began, reading the music as he went.

"'I dreamed that love would never die. I dreamed that God would be forgiving,'" Sarah continued, picking up where he'd left off.

"'Then I was young and unafraid, and dreams were made and used and wasted,'" they sang together, their voices melding together in the rises and falls of perfect harmony. "'There was no ransom to be paid! No song unsung, no wine untasted!" They sang on, until the entire song had been finished. That's when Sarah realized how quiet the bandroom had become.

She glanced around; all eyes were on them. Then she heard the sound of clapping. Mr. Baker stepped out of his office, beaming a smile that was even bigger than the one he wore the day Sarah had told him she'd decided to join the band. Everyone followed Mr. Baker's lead, clapping for the duet they'd so accidentally just performed.

"That was great!"

"Wow!"

"We knew Sarah could sing, but now the new kid can too? Awesome!"

All the compliments started to give Joshua a headache. He could tell they were also bothering Sarah, who slunk down in her seat and turned a pale shade of red. "Uh, thanks you guys," she replied, attempting to stop the applauding voices. "It was nothing really." She then stared down at her feet and started messing with the hem of her t-shirt, something she tended to do whenever she became nervous or embarrassed.

Joshua leaned down so his eyes could meet hers, and smiled. "That was pretty good," he told her, "but I say I'm just a bit better than you, Princess." He winked, causing Sarah to turn an even darker shade of red. But this time he could tell it wasn't from embarrassment.

"Oh yeah? You must be mistaken, Pretty Boy. Last I saw I was the one with the vocal solo," she answered, smirking. "And since when is my nickname Princess? I thought I was Crazy Girl."

It was Joshua's turn to roll his eyes. "Crazy Girl, Princess, what difference does it make? Either way you're insane. Besides, it just kind of came out. No big deal."

Sarah smirked. "Right."

_Tap tap tap!_ She looked up to see Mr. Baker tapping on his stand with his new practice baton, trying to get the band kids' attention. The room quickly became silent again, the only noise coming from the percussionists in the back, who were snickering at their own crazy antics, such as dropping drumsticks or bumping into the cymbals and chimes and setting them off. Mr. Baker narrowed his eyes at the percussionists, a very irritated expression on his face, and swiftly silenced them as well.

"Today we're working on _Les Misérables_, everyone. After we run through the main piece a few times, we'll start to work on 'I Dreamed a Dream,' since it will be added into the middle of the medley of songs from the musical. Now." He raised his baton and sat at attention, waiting for the students to follow him and raise their instruments to their mouths. "One, two, one two, ready, go." They immediately started with "The Work Song," which led straight into "At the End of the Day."

Joshua was amazed by the beauty of the music, how well each part meshed together. Until one of the trumpets came in late. "Brandon!"

"I know. Sorry!" the boy that much resembled Noah answered, a light giggle in his voice as he dropped his head down behind the stand.

"You think this is funny, Brandon?" Mr. Baker asked, to which Brandon briskly shook his head in reply.

"N-no sir!" By then, Joshua couldn't help but note the humor in Mr. Baker's words. He was getting quite a kick out of the whole thing.

"Alright, alright," Mr. Baker chuckled. "Horns up." They soon started back on their music, Brandon taking extra care to hit the right note this time. It actually sounded halfway decent, as far as Joshua was concerned. And that was saying something, with his decades upon decades of musicianship.

After running through each song a few more times they finally shifted to "I Dreamed a Dream," but the bell rang before they could even begin. "Practice this song over the weekend, everyone. I better not see a single instrument here when you leave! Don't forget to put your stands away, and see you on Monday," he told them as they stood to put their stands and instruments up.

Sarah showed Joshua where the stands went, then resumed the conversation she, Kelcy, and Katherine had been having in Mr. Baker's office nearly an hour ago. "Oh yeah, where is Patrick today, Mr. Baker?" Kelcy asked, interrupting her abrupt conversation with Sarah and Katherine.

"He just decided not to show up today, I guess," Mr. Baker told her, shrugging his shoulders. "You know how Patrick is."

"Who is Patrick?" Joshua asked. "Is he a student too?"

"Yeah, at Bevill State Community College," Kelcy commented dryly. "He's the 'Assistant Band Director' here. Well, kind of. We're not really sure what he is, actually. He graduated from Dora last year."

"Ironically his son's name is Joshua too," Sarah added, nudging Joshua in the shoulder. _Bzzt._

Joshua jerked away. "You have _really_ got to stop doing that."

"Whoops." Sarah frowned. She was having a hard time not touching the Composer, and it sort of struck him odd. He quickly shook it off upon noticing yet again that she reacted with most everyone through touch.

_Nisai was the same way… That's what upset her the most about me. Touching me was next to impossible, not only with the implications it had but also… wait, the shockwave? No, it's impossible… She isn't Nisai._

_She'll never be her._

"Uh, aren't you gonna miss the bus, Katherine?" Kelcy asked, gesturing for the door. "And you too, Sarah?"

"Oh crap! Bye, you guys!" Katherine exclaimed, waving as she ran off.

"Scholars' Bowl," she and Joshua replied in unison. Kelcy stared at the two in confusion.

"It's been one day and you're already saying things at the same time. At least give it a month like Katherine and I did!" she answered, laughing.

"But how did you—?"

"Cole told me," he replied, turning to go. "Oh, and he told me he would be bringing you by the park afterward. Please don't let him forget. I'm sure you know how forgetful _boys_ can be, Princess." With one last sidelong glance at Sarah, he sauntered away, a bounce in his step only equaled by one person she and Kelcy both knew.

"He bounces like Mrs. Leslie!" Kelcy exclaimed, jumping in excitement. Mrs. Leslie was her church's choir director, a blonde, bouncy, faith-filled woman that Katherine, Kelcy, and Sarah had looked up to ever since they'd met her. Especially Kelcy, who knew her long before the others had. "Well, I'm outta here. Have fun at practice with _Cole."_

"Eh he, thanks," Sarah replied, rolling her eyes. "I'll try."


	5. Sleeping Arrangements

**A/N: Hey, you guys! Me again, finally here with Chapter 5... Recently I haven't had much Internet access, but I promise, I do plan on finishing this fic if I can. :P With the help of my lovely editor, of course! ^.^ Thanks for bearing with me this entire time, and reviews are greatly appreciated!:D**

Chapter 5: Sleeping Arrangements

She couldn't go to the park. She couldn't allow herself to get close to Joshua. Not again. _Not again? _

Where was that coming from? She'd never met Joshua before today, so it couldn't possibly be a second time. Still, something drew her to him. He was so strangely familiar, and not just because he was her favorite fictional game character. Well, she supposed it would be considered non-fiction now.

"Sarah? Are you okay? You didn't answer any of the questions today, and all you did was stare off into space during bonuses and worksheets," Cole asked, putting the car in drive. He never asked how she was doing, so obviously something was wrong.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just one of those days, I guess," she replied, shrugging her shoulders and turning to gaze out the window.

"This doesn't have anything to do with the new guy, does it?" How could he tell?

"N-no! Not at all…" She glanced over at him, and could tell he hadn't believed a word she'd just said. "I'm fine, honest." Cole sighed.

"Alright, but you sure are acting strange today. Almost like a completely different person." She sure felt like a completely different person. She felt hundreds of years older than she did this morning, before Joshua and the Players had ended up in Maya. Before she knew they'd existed outside of video games.

What was wrong with her? "I guess it's just…" She bit her lip. Could she really trust herself not to say anything she shouldn't? "Joshua, he… He's different."

"Oh, so you like him?" Cole wondered, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't it a little early for that? I mean, you've only known him a day—"

"It's not that, Cole. I _don't_ like him. And you're right; it has only been a day. But it feels like I've known him so much longer than that."

"Well, maybe you saw him around town before? I'm sure he didn't just show up today. He came all the way from Japan, you know."

_Sure he did. Is that what he's been telling people?_

"No, I don't mean it like that. I mean, I feel like I've known him for years… Maybe even decades…"

"Uh, Sarah? Are you sure you need to go see him? I mean, I know he acts a whole lot older than he is, but he hasn't exactly been around for decades. And neither have you," he pointed out.

_If only you knew._ "I'm not sure I want to go, but I know I need to. Besides, you're already almost at the park." And no sooner had she said that did he pull into the parking lot.

"That doesn't mean I can't turn around and take you home right now if you want me to," he answered as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.

"N-no, it's okay. As tempting as that sounds… He asked me to come, and I'm not gonna leave him waiting. Cole?" She turned to face him one last time. "Thank you… for everything."

"No prob, Sarah. See you Monday." She shut the door and waved as he pulled out of the park.

"You too." She took a look around, trying to figure out where Joshua had wanted to meet exactly. He'd said the park, but Maya Park was a pretty big place, possibly three times the size of the school, with a basketball court, two tennis courts, and a playground out front, not to mention two baseball fields, a batting cage, and an open practice field surrounded by a concrete walking track. Just east of it down a few flights of wooden steps were a pond and some dirt trails for hikers and four-wheelers. She'd finally decided to cut through the parking lot and head toward the pond, his most likely meeting spot, when she caught sight of a tuft of angel blond hair out of the corner of her eye.

He was standing at the green gate heading to the playground, surrounded by a group of little girls. They seemed to be asking him about something, but what, Sarah had no idea. _The little perv,_ she thought, rolling her eyes and grinning as she made her way toward him. Upon hearing her footsteps, he looked up, his violet eyes catching her own in quiet amusement. "Finally decided to show up, eh Princess?" he asked, tucking a stray hair behind his ear and stuffing his hand in his pocket.

The girls turned to face her, and one in particular she actually recognized. A petite blonde with sparkling blue eyes who just so happened to be an old friend's little sister. "Daisy Taylors? What are you doing here by yourself?"

"Sarah!" Daisy exclaimed, running up to Sarah and throwing her arms out for the brunette to catch her. "I'm not alone." She frowned. "Stormie's here too, and so is Matthew. They brought me with them to the park!" By then the other girls had dispersed, leaving Joshua alone and slightly confused.

"You really do know a lot of people around here, Princess," he remarked as he made his way over to where she and Daisy were.

"Well, I think you're pretty popular too, Josh. With the girls at least," she smirked, "I see you've already met Joshua, Daisy." Daisy nodded.

"Yeah, I just came over to ask him how his eyes were so purple. All the other girls kept telling me they were contacts, but nobody would believe me when I said they were real!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms and letting out a huff of disappointment.

"Is that what he's been telling you girls? Well, I wouldn't listen to him if I were you," she told her, winking. "I think they're real." Daisy's eyes shone with excitement. Finally, someone agreed with her.

"Why don't you go tell them? Maybe they'll believe you if they know you asked me about it." Daisy nodded, beaming a pearl white grin at Sarah before saying thank you and taking off toward the direction of the merry-go-round. She watched the girl reach her destination before turning to face Joshua, who had been unconsciously staring at her the entire time, a confused expression on his face.

"What is it?" she asked, breaking his trance. He shook his head and rubbed his face with his free hand before answering.

"Nothing. Just reminded me of an old friend. Someone I once knew a really long time ago," he replied, staring off into the distance.

"Oh. Well, wanna head to the pond? It's a lot quieter there, and there aren't as many people. Reminding me, where are Neku and the others?"

"They're somewhere around here, I believe. I saw Neku and Shiki heading toward the pond, and I think Beat's playing basketball with some guys. Not sure where Rhyme went."

"Oh, so the pond isn't such a good idea after all. Hm… follow me. There's a fork on the other side of the walking track that leads to an even bigger one that connects the elementary and high school to here. It should be good enough." She started off in the direction, Joshua following closely behind.

"You don't have a place to stay yet, do you?" Joshua shook his head and sighed. He hadn't planned on winding up in this dimension, after all. He'd planned on being elsewhere. She was silent for what seemed like an eternity before finally speaking up.

"Well, between my friends and me, I believe we can figure it out. Let's see…" Throwing her hands behind head, she stared up at the sky while continuing down the track, much like Sora used to do back when they'd ended up in Traverse Town. "Katherine could convince her mom to let Shiki and Rhyme stay with her, but her dad would probably kill you and Neku and Beat." Her brow furrowed slightly as she considered her other options.

"There are already nine people in my house, so taking in three more would probably be pretty hard. We might manage it though… If Christian shared Chris's bed, there would be an open bed for two people, but, no offense, I doubt Neku would take very kindly to the thought of sleeping with either you or Beat." Joshua's face fell slightly.

"I resent that," he answered, smirking.

"Well, Katherine already thinks you're gay. Sleep with Neku one night, and I'm telling you, your life as a heterosexual male at Maya High School would be over. Even if you did keep your clothes on. I'm already sleeping on the couch, or I'd just give up my bed."

"Then give me the couch." Sarah looked over blankly at Joshua.

"You really think I'd be allowed anywhere near a bed if a boy was sleeping in it? My dad would _kill _me. Then he would kill the boy too, just for the fun of it. Looks like you're stuck, Josh. Besides, we have two couches, but DJ's on the other. You could _try_ convincing him, but I doubt you'll be getting anywhere anytime soon with him. He's too consumed in his relationship with Ariel to worry about any of us at the moment. One of you will have to sleep on the loveseat anyway, even though it'll probably kill your back. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to get it."

While he had to admit she'd thought the whole thing out pretty well, he still didn't much fathom the idea of sleeping with either Beat or Neku on the other side of him. Plus, it's not like she'd even asked yet. This wasn't a definite sleeping arrangement. Then he saw her pull out her phone to make a call.

"Don't worry; I'm not stupid enough to _call _Mawmaw and Pawpaw to ask them if three _boys_ could come stay at the house for however long you plan on staying. I'm letting you and your crazy Jesus powers handle _that _one. I'm calling Katherine to see if Shiki and Rhyme can stay over there for the time being. Reminding me, how long do you plan on being here?" Joshua shook his head.

"Eh, still not sure about that one. Could be days, could be a few months. No longer than a year though." Sarah hung up the phone before Katherine even had time to pick up.

"Second thought, you're going to be convincing her family too. Not that they would mind a few days, but a few months? They might start asking questions, and I know you don't want that. I would just put them in our house too, but there really wouldn't be enough room. We're barely fitting you three."

Joshua shrugged his shoulders. Fair enough to him. He glanced around, realizing that they weren't at the park anymore. Deciduous trees surrounded the concrete track they were walking on, with a slight curve and the occasional resting place. He also noticed a distance marker every so often, as well as a faded white line that used to divide the track like an actual road. There weren't many different types of flowers, other than the occasional cluster of cosmos or dandelions, but there were plenty of weeds dotting the track's edges.

"Is this the place you were talking about?" Sarah nodded, taking a sidelong glance at him to make sure he'd seen her reply.

"We're actually walking toward the high school at the moment. Now, wasn't there something else you wanted to talk to me about? Besides sleeping arrangements." Joshua thought for a moment, trying to remember why he'd summoned her to the park in the first place, when it'd finally dawned on him. He'd wanted to ask her more about what she knew.

"Before, when I'd asked Cole if he could drop you off, I'd been wanting to ask you more about how you knew us, but now, after what happened before Band, I'm not really sure what I should be asking," he told her, stopping in his tracks and turning to face her. She almost kept going, had he not grabbed her arm, sending another shock through the both of them. "Tch. Like that. You're not a Composer, but you can do that. I mean, I'm not sure if a Composer from another dimension can do that or not, but I know it isn't normal. Who are you, Princess?"

Sarah stared at him blankly. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Josh. I'm just me. I've never been anyone else."

"Oh, come on! Quit lying to me, Nisai!" _Whoops_.

"I'm _not_ lying, Yoshiya!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot and glaring up at him in rage. Wait, why had she called him _that_? "And just who is Nisai?!"

"Forget it," he muttered, shaking his head. "Just forget it!" He threw his hands in the air in exasperation.

"Who is she, Josh?" Sarah asked, somewhat calmer than before.

"I said forget it, Sarah," he growled, clenching his teeth in frustration. After nearly forever, it seemed, Joshua turned back toward the direction of the park. "We should probably go find the others and let them know about the sleeping arrangements."

"Yeah," she agreed, sighing. "I guess we should."

"Good game, man," one of the boys told Beat as he tossed them the ball. "Come on back soon!"

"Yo, you can bet on it!" he exclaimed, giving him a thumbs up as he walked backwards toward Joshua and Sarah. "And next time I won't go easy on you guys!"

"Beat? Have you seen Rhyme, per chance?" Joshua asked, glancing over at the blond.

"Nope. Can't say I have. Yo, uh, what'd you want anyway?"

"Sarah's arranged for us a place to stay, so we're trying to find everyone and let them know."

"Oh, in that case—"

"Stay with us, Beat. It's getting dark anyway. I'll be expected home pretty soon, so we kind of need to hurry. You said Neku and Shiki were heading toward the pond, right Josh?" Joshua nodded, pointing in the direction they needed to go. "Well, hopefully we'll run into Rhyme along the way. If not, I'm not sure what we'll do."

Sarah started off toward the pond, only to be interrupted by someone calling her name. _Rhyme?_ She swerved to face the direction of the voice, and quickly figured out who was calling. Sarah's face fell. It hadn't been her after all. "Sarah?" the girl called again, jogging over to meet her.

"Stormie!" Sarah exclaimed, beaming a smile at the curly-haired brunette and embracing her. "Daisy told me you were here."

"Yeah, I heard. Who are they?" Stormie asked, glancing over at Joshua and Beat, her eyes lingering a fraction of a second longer on the former.

"I'm Joshua," he told her, extending a hand for her to shake. After doing so, Beat made a fist and held it out for her to bump.

"Yo, the name's Beat," he said, bringing his hand back to his side.

"Nice to meet you two," she answered, nodding to them both. "I'm Stormie." Joshua could tell by the lengthy glances in his direction that she probably thought he was pretty attractive. Of course, she also seemed to have a boyfriend, as she wore a promise ring where a wedding ring was supposed to go.

"Stormie, I hate to do this, but we're kind of looking for a few people so we can head home. Could we…?"

"Oh, yeah. Hey, why don't I help? Who all are you looking for?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure you don't know them—"

"We're looking for a shorter blonde girl with a skull cap on like Beat's, and we already know where the other two are," Joshua cut in before Sarah could finish. "Have you seen her, by any chance?" Stormie thought about it for a moment.

"I think I saw her at the pond with the ducks when Matthew and I were down there. She might be gone by now though, since it's been about half an hour."

"Well, it's worth a shot. Thanks, Stormie!" Sarah exclaimed, hugging her goodbye. "Would you text me if you see her before I do?" Stormie nodded.

"See you later, Sarah."

"You too, Stormie," she told her, pivoting on her heel to head for the pond. "Well, I think that went over pretty well. Better than I expected anyway." Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "It's a wonder she didn't flirt with either of you."

"I'd say the sidelong glances were quite enough to get the point across. And I'm sure you noticed them too, Ni—I mean, Sarah." Sarah sighed. Again with the Nisai thing. Who was she? And why did he keep mentioning her?

It was almost like he _wanted_ Sarah to figure it out. "Yeah, but that was nothing, Josh. Just wait till you see her around at school, then you'll _wish_ it was just the occasional sidelong glance in your direction."

"But doesn't she have a boyfriend?" he asked, his eyes momentarily meeting hers.

"Well, he flirts just as bad as she does, but they know they love each other too much to let _that_ get in the way of things." Though Sarah didn't bother to mention that it still baffled her as well.

"Ah." Joshua still wasn't convinced. After all, how can you love someone so much yet hopelessly flirt with other people? It was never that way when he was younger. _Of course, things were a whole lot different in that time anyway…_

_A time when kings and queens ruled over the land, when dragons roamed the earth and wizards practiced all types of sorcery. _A time period so often found in little girls' fairy tales that it made him feel incredibly old, almost ancient, to read about it. Though in his dimension, that time period wasn't near as far away as this world portrayed it. _At the most it was only about a few centuries ago._ Then again, this dimension was far more advanced than the Shibuya he was used to seeing.

Touch screen phones and digital music players, high tech laptops, 3D electronics, HD television, and even the occasional electric car. It was a wonder he hadn't spotted a robot yet, or a flying vehicle, even. Certainly not something he'd see back home. "There you are, Rhyme!" Sarah exclaimed, snapping Joshua's attention back to reality.

"Oh, hey you guys," she said, looking up at them and waving. She'd been watching the ducks, just as Stormie had told them, and was currently feeding a bread crumb to a black spotted duckling. "What's up?"

"Well, I think I've found you a place to stay, Rhyme," Sarah explained, strolling over to the girl.

"With Beat?" she asked, glancing back at her brother.

"Eh, not exactly. But you'll be with Shiki. Is that okay?" Rhyme nodded. She kind of figured they would be separated when it came to sleeping arrangements anyway.

"By the way, have you seen Neku and Shiki?" Rhyme pointed in the direction of the bridge at the northernmost edge of the pond.

"They should be over there." Sarah glanced over there and noticed the two figures standing side by side, leaning over the bridge's handrail.

"Yeah, that's them alright," Joshua commented dryly, giggling lightly. "Standing in the most romantic spot in all of Maya and doing nothing but _talking_."

"Well, it isn't quite the most romantic spot…" Sarah trailed off. "It isn't very private either, unless it's at night." It seemed to Joshua like she knew from past experience.

"Did your _boyfriend_ ever take you here?" he remarked sarcastically, gesturing at the ring on her finger that very much resembled Stormie's.

"I don't have one, thank you! And that's a purity ring!" she snapped, jerking her hand behind her back involuntarily. "What's it to you, anyway? You're the one so hung up on Nisai!" Joshua physically cringed at the words, and she immediately regretted them.

Her face softened as she took a step toward him. "I-I'm sorry, Josh. I shouldn't have said that. I had no right. I don't even know who Nisai i—"

"No, it was my fault for bringing her up so much. I'll be sure not to let it happen again," he remarked stoically, walking off in Neku and Shiki's direction. His words stung somehow, but she wasn't sure why. It was almost like she wished he _would_ bring her up again.

She involuntarily reached a hand toward him, but stopped short once she realized what she was doing. Despair clouded her eyes, but the feeling left almost as soon as it came. "Sarah, are you okay?" Rhyme asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Yeah, just fine," answered Sarah, taking Rhyme's hand in hers. "We should go get them so we can go home. Come on, Beat." Rhyme could tell she was lying by the sudden softness in her voice, but decided against pressing the subject any further and followed the dark brunette toward her friends.

"What the—" _Splash!_ Sarah cut her eyes in the direction of the noise, trying to figure out who had fallen in, and saw a wide-eyed Shiki and a laughing Joshua staring down at the person in question.

_Neku._ "Josh, tell me you didn't push him in," Sarah remarked, raising an eyebrow at the angel blond boy as she finally reached the edge of the bridge.

"Oh, _I _didn't," he told her between giggles. "She did." He pointed over at Shiki, who half-smiled sheepishly at Sarah.

"Well, he shouldn't have said what he did," she muttered, "Besides, it's not like he can't swim. Right, Neku?"

A gurgling noise came from below as Neku finally came up gasping for air. "Huff…huff…" he breathed, rubbing his eyes and squinting up at the figures above. "What was that for?!"

"If you still don't know the answer, Neku Sakuraba, you'll never get it," Shiki told him, furrowing her brows at him. Neku shook his head and began his trip back to dry land, which was barely more than a few yards away. Sarah met him at the edge of the water and helped him climb out.

"Eh he, looks like we'll have even _more_ explaining to do. Fun," murmured Sarah, looking Neku up and down. "Well, now that everyone's here, I'll call Mawmaw to come get us." She pulled out her phone and quickly dialed the number. Her grandmother picked up within a few rings.

"Hey, Mawmaw? Yeah, it's Sarah. Cole dropped me off at the park after practice to meet a few friends. DJ told you, right? Well, could you come get us? And, uh, bring a towel while you're at it," she explained, glancing over at the dripping redhead. "Maybe two if you wanna keep the Suburban dry."

Joshua gave Sarah an amused look. "Yeah, I'll be sure to tell you once you get here. Thanks, Mawmaw. Love you too, bye."

_Click._

"Well, Mawmaw's on her way. She doesn't know you guys are coming to the house though, so I wouldn't bring it up just yet. Now I need to call Katherine and let her know we're coming…" She then dialed her friend's number, who picked up quite a number of rings later. "Hey, could I talk to Katherine?"

After a few moments of silence, the curly-haired brunette picked up the phone. "Hey! I, uh, kind of need to ask you a favor. You know the new kids? Well, they don't have anywhere to go and, while I have a place for Josh and Beat and Neku, I don't necessarily have room for Rhyme and Shiki. Yeah, you met Rhyme in second block today, but I don't think you ever had a class with Shiki. Do you think they could stay at your house for a while?"

Apparently Katherine had said something akin to yes, because Sarah's face lit up slightly at the answer. "Thank you so much! I'm sure you'll get along with Shiki just fine! And I'll let Josh do the explaining if you don't mind. He… has a way with words." Sarah laughed as Katherine once again referenced the video game version of the blond boy. "Yeah, kind of like him. Well, I'll be at your house soon, Katherine. Thanks again!"

She hung up with the girl and turned to face Joshua. "Think you can convince her parents without arousing her suspicion? She already knows you're different, based on your 'energy,' as she likes to call it. She used to practice Wicca, so she knows a lot about stuff like that. But even now that she knows Kelcy and has become a devout Baptist, she can still sense it. Guess it kind of sticks with you after you learn something like that."

Joshua smirked, laughing lightly at Sarah's tendency to ramble. "Even if she figures out, I believe we can trust your friend to keep quiet. If you trust her enough to let Shiki and Rhyme stay there for such an ambiguous amount of time, then I think we can trust her with such a… trivial secret. Besides, no one will believe her anyway," he pointed out, to which Sarah nodded in reply.

"I guess." Neku and the others looked utterly confused, since they still didn't realize that Sarah knew who they were. "Well, we'd better start toward the parking lot so Mawmaw isn't left waiting." They walked together in silence a few minutes as each ex-Player tried to figure out the conversation they'd just witnessed.

Joshua finally decided to explain. "Sarah knows us," he told them, making eye contact with each one before continuing. "I'm still not sure how she figured out so quickly, but she does. There's a game here, one about us, and that's what she means when she refers to another 'Joshua,' or another 'Neku,' or another 'Shiki,' and so on."

Shiki and Neku stared at him and Sarah incredulously. Rhyme smiled, the only one who seemed content by the explanation, and Beat started into hysterics, unconvinced by a word of it. "Yo, Prissy Kid, you're kidding, right?" he asked between bouts of laughter.

"Since when do I kid about anything, Beat?" he retorted, cocking an eyebrow at the blond. Beat quit laughing, realizing that the young Composer had proven a point.

"So that's what you were talking about in the lunchroom today?" Neku muttered, earning a nod from Sarah in reply.

"My friends like to call Josh gay, and my comebacks aren't always so defensive… Rather, a lot of times they further prove Kelcy and Katherine's assumptions," she explained, a slightly sheepish look on her face. "But you witnessed that yourself today."

"And they're talking about 'Game Joshua'?" Again, Sarah nodded at Neku.

"But the game version still acts like the real Joshua, just like 'Game Neku' acts like you," she pointed out. Neku let out a huff of annoyance.

"Sure it does." The story was just too incredible for him to believe, and he wanted evidence "Prove it."

"Let's see… How would I know that Shiki made you take off your pants during the Game once to sew a button back on?"

Neku snorted. "Psh. Easy, you talked to Cole or Daniel. She told that story in class today."

Sarah rolled her eyes in amusement. "Bet she didn't bring up the Game though. Joshua wouldn't have let her do _that_. Alright then, how would I know that Joshua killed you with a pistol… twice?"

Neku shrugged his shoulders, unfazed by her answer. "You've talked to Josh today. I wouldn't be surprised if he told you everything just to screw with me and ultimately tick me off."

"Gee, Neku, you really have an answer for everything, don't you? What about your friend, Neku? The one that _died_ on his way to come see you."

Neku gulped, the words charring his wounded heart far worse than any wildfire could have. "Josh could've told you that too. And don't bring _him_ into this, Sarah," replied Neku acidly.

"Fine, but you're the one who won't believe me. Your first price was your memory. Your second, Shiki. Your third, everyone. You entered the Game alone, no partner to help defend against the Noise, and it was an inevitable loss from the start. Until Beat rebelled against the Reapers and you two decided to go after the Composer together."

"Tch. Your point? Josh knew _all_ that. He's freakin' clairvoyant. He could've told you a whole bunch of pointless crap to get me to believe you." Sarah gave Joshua a look of reluctance before finally sighing and answering Neku.

"Fine. You don't have to believe me. No one ever said you did. But if there's one thing I'm not, I'm definitely _not_ a liar," she commented dryly, averting her gaze away from him.

After a few awkward moments, Rhyme piped up. "I believe you," she said, walking over and giving Sarah a hug. "Don't worry. Neku doesn't like trusting people at first."

"I know. 'I don't get people. Never have, never will.' Right, Neku?" Neku was momentarily stunned by the quote she'd used.

_But, Josh wasn't there when I… Could she be…? _He quickly shook it off. _No… Just no._

"Uh, yeah, sure. Whatever," he answered, waving off the statement in an unfazed manner.

Joshua rolled his eyes, having noticed the doubt that had crossed Neku's face for a fraction of a second. They'd finally made it up the wooden stairs from the pond and were heading down the concrete walking track toward the parking lot when Sarah's phone vibrated from a new text.

_Where are you?_ Daniel sent, to which Sarah replied with a brisk _On our way_ before turning the screen off and slipping it back in her pocket.

"Well, they're definitely here," remarked Sarah. "So we'd better hurry before Mawmaw decides to leave us." They reached the Suburban within minutes, a watery trail snaking behind them as Neku's clothes kept dripping. Sarah stood outside her grandmother's window and waited for her to roll it down.

"Here's the towel," Daniel told her, tossing it through their grandmother's window. It was green and covered in yellow swirls, Joshua noted as Sarah handed it over to a certain sopping redhead.

"Thanks. Mawmaw, this is Neku, Josh, Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme," she told her, pointing at each person as she came across their name. She knew her grandmother most likely wouldn't remember all their names, but it always helped to give her something to remember. "DJ's already met Josh, Shiki, and Neku."

"A pleasure," Joshua said, nodding his head and smiling wistfully at her.

"Hmph," muttered Neku, who was too busy drying his face and hair with the towel to give a more intelligible answer. Not that he probably would've anyway.

"Nice to meet you!" Shiki exclaimed, waving, and Rhyme nodded in agreement.

Beat simply gave a hand gesture in greeting as Sarah opened the back door for them to climb in. "Boys in the back," she explained, "since Katherine's is the first stop. Not to mention Neku's still soaked." Neku grunted in annoyance. As if he needed a reminder of his current state.

The boys clambered in one by one as Shiki and Rhyme went around and sat in the middle seats. Sarah lifted the seat back up and sat beside Rhyme, shutting the door behind her and habitually buckling up. "So where are we going, Sarah?" her grandmother asked, a confused expression on her face.

"Here, I'll give you directions," she answered as her grandmother pulled out of the parking lot. "Turn left like you're going to Jessica's. Then once you reach Maya Elementary turn right and just follow that road till I tell you we're there." Her grandmother went as directed, and they made it to Katherine's in about seven minutes.

"Here, Josh, Shiki, Rhyme, come with me. Josh and I will be right back, Mawmaw," said Sarah, slipping out and lifting the seat so Joshua could climb out behind her.

"Alright, but don't be too long. We've got to get the others home," her grandmother replied, glancing over at Sarah as Shiki and Rhyme came around the car and they began to make their way to the door.

"Ugh… the toughest part's going to be convincing them," Sarah muttered, her stomach twisting nervously as she walked up the front porch steps.

"Trust me, Princess. It's not going to be near as hard as you think," Joshua told her, smirking. She knocked on the door and dreaded finding out who would answer. Luckily, it was one of Katherine's younger sisters, particularly her blonde sister Brianna that much resembled a chipmunk, in Sarah's opinion.

"Katherine! Your friends are here!" she called to her sister. "Wait, who is everybody?"

"Brianna Marie! I said I'd get the door!" she heard Katherine scream as she rounded the corner from her bedroom.

"They're… friends of Katherine's," Sarah explained hastily as Joshua cut in.

"Actually, they're going to be staying with you a little while, Brianna," he said, honey-coating his words as thickly as possible. Sarah, Shiki, and Rhyme were almost compelled to listen as well, had he not specified the little blonde girl's name. "You don't mind, do you?" Brianna shook her head almost involuntarily. Of course she didn't mind.

"They'll just be like your bigger sisters for a little while," he told her as a baffled Katherine stood there in disbelief. Brianna rolled her eyes.

"Great. All I need are two _more_ older sisters," she pouted, hands on her hips.

"You… really are him, aren't you?" Katherine breathed as her little sister stomped sulkily away. Joshua nodded. "I knew there was something different about you. Does Sarah…?" Sarah nodded, answering the question she knew her friend was about to ask.

"Stupid question, of course _Sarah_ would know… Anyway, come on in. You're lucky you came on a day that both my parents were home." She gestured for the four to follow her in, and was stopped by her other younger sister, a brunette of roughly twelve named Alyssa.

"Who are _they_?" she asked snidely, earning a glare from her older sister.

"Friends," she replied brusquely, not bothering with any more of an explanation than that.

"Ooh, Kelcy's gonna be _so_ jealous!"

"For the millionth time, Alyssa Dawn, Kelcy is _not_ my girlfriend!" Katherine snapped, glaring over at her sister.

"That's what you say," she muttered before turning to face Sarah. "Who are they?"

Before Sarah could think of a reply, Joshua repeated what he'd just said to Brianna, though he changed the name to Alyssa to make his words more specific like they'd been before. He didn't need Shiki, Rhyme, Sarah, or Katherine falling under the spell as well (though he wouldn't have minded so much if Katherine had "accidentally" felt compelled to listen). When he'd finished, they walked toward the kitchen, where both her mother and father were at. Her mother looked up from the dishes and gave Katherine an incredulous look, as did her father when he looked up from his raiding of the fridge for supper that night.

"Mr. and Mrs. Wicks," Sarah began somewhat shakily, "This is Josh, Shiki, and Rhyme. They're, uh, friends of ours… That kind of need a place to stay."

Mrs. Wicks narrowed her eyes with a look that asked _Your point?_

"Oh, no, not Josh, of course! Uh, well…"

"Mr. and Mrs. Wicks, if I may explain," Joshua began, interrupting Sarah's nearly unintelligible speech. "We're new here in town, and we've been looking for a temporary place to stay. The house is being remodeled, and Katherine was kind enough to allow me to come and ask, since I'd _insisted _on being the one to talk to you about it." His slow, seductive manner of speech came as quite the surprise to the two adults. Her father seemed to care less as long as his spouse agreed and quickly left the room, but her mother, however, was a different story.

"She was, was she?" Mrs. Wicks inquired, glaring over at the curly-haired brunette in question, who smiled guiltily in reply. "And just what is Kelcy going to say about this?"

"Mom!" Katherine facepalmed. "How many times do we have to go over this? Kelcy and I _aren't_ dating. Kelcy's in love with a guy named Christian, and I'm… In love with Josh!" she exclaimed, grabbing Joshua by the arm and pulling him close. Sarah couldn't help but feel slightly agitated by the gesture, for reasons unbeknownst to her.

"You are?" her mother asked as Joshua chimed in with an ever sardonic "Is that so?" Katherine elbowed him in the side, causing him to wince slightly in pain and mutter softly, "Fine, fine. Whatever you say, dear."

Mrs. Wicks raised an eyebrow at the odd couple. "_Mhmm_." She clicked her tongue in amusement. "Well, I suppose… Wait, what about your parents? And just how _long_ is 'temporary?'"

"Eh, about that… They…died…a number of years ago," Joshua told her, momentarily recalling his own parents' tragic deaths. "And we aren't exactly sure how long it'll take for the remodeling to be done."

The answer left Mrs. Wicks slightly baffled. "But how are you moving here if you have no parents?"

"A friend of the family," Joshua skillfully lied, coating his words with the sweetest amount of ether he could muster. "As Sarah said, I'll be staying to help remodel, as will my two brothers, but Shiki and Rhyme need a place to go until then. Mrs. Wicks, would that be a problem?"

Mrs. Wicks sighed, her obstinate behavior having finally given in to his compelling powers. "Of course not."

"Thank you, Mrs. Wicks. Unfortunately, they don't have any clothing for the night, so I suppose I'll bring it by tomorrow. Would that be okay?" Mrs. Wicks nodded reluctantly. "Well, Sarah's family is waiting for us outside, so I suppose we'll be off. Again, thank you for such kindness; it really means a great deal to our family. Goodbye, Shiki and Rhyme," he told them, waving as he pivoted on his heel and headed for the door.

"Yes, Mrs. Wicks, thank you so much! Bye everyone!" Sarah exclaimed, following closely behind her blond Composer friend.

"But wait," Mrs. Wicks said, interrupting their leave. "Aren't you going to _kiss_ the love of your life before you go, Josh?"

_Shoot. Didn't see that one coming,_ Sarah thought as Joshua meticulously made his way back toward Katherine.

"Pardon my manners, ma'am, but I was taught that it was impolite to do such a thing in front of others, especially…parents." Mrs. Wicks hadn't bought it.

"I'm waiting," she stated, cocking an eyebrow and tapping her foot impatiently. Joshua sighed.

_The things I do for these people,_ he thought dryly, referring to Rhyme and Shiki, who also seemed expectant to see him kiss the curly-haired girl. _Have they really become so important to me?_

"It'll be over in a second," he promised, not only to Katherine but to himself as well. Katherine nodded, shutting her eyes and waiting for his lips to crash into hers. But they never did. She felt a light, almost angelic touch grace her lips for nearly a second, after which he quickly pulled away and moved a finger to his lips, the hint of a smile etched on his divine appearance. Katherine felt her face flush, and hoped desperately her mother wouldn't notice.

"Good night, dear," Joshua breathed as he turned and walked back toward the door, where an irritated Sarah awaited him. When the door was finally shut behind them, Sarah turned to face Joshua and slapped him across the arm, shooting a wave of electricity straight up it as well as through the palm of her hand. She yelped, gripping her palm disdainfully. "What was that for?" he asked, rubbing the sore spot she'd left.

"For kissing my best friend!" she shouted. "You and I both know you're not gonna be here very long, and it's only gonna hurt her more when you leave if you do something like that!"

"Her, or you?" he wondered, raising an eye at the stubborn brunette. "You seem way more upset about the kiss than she did. And it would've never happened if you had let me done it my way," he remarked, smirking. "Are you just jealous because I kissed her instead of _you_?"

_God, what a conceited person! _"Me? Jealous over a kiss? As if. And like I could sit there and let you _brainwash _her entire family with a clean conscious! Do you take me for an idiot?!" Joshua chuckled, again recalling a piece of his past he hadn't thought of in years.

"Nisai said the same thing once. The idiot part, not the rest. Right before I gave her my first ki—" He cut himself off, realizing where the conversation was heading. "I mean, no, you're definitely not an idiot. And hey, brainwashing is much simpler than what I just went through, thank you."

"Well, don't think for one second I'm going to let you brainwash my family into thinking you're our long lost cousins or brothers or something," she stated, rolling her eyes.

"Because then I wouldn't be able to do this, would I?" he asked, jerking her around to face him and letting his lips touch hers, in a much less sensitive way than he'd met Katherine's. In fact, he almost seemed to enjoy it (despite the electrifying sensation it left).

He could almost imagine his first kiss with Nisai, the one that had changed the course of their lives forever. Her lips were so soft and inviting, forceful even, yet so clumsy, so undoubtedly inexperienced. She'd never kissed anyone before, just as Nisai hadn't. But that made it all the more interesting. It even momentarily made him wish he could kiss her again, to be her first and her last just as he'd been Nisai's.

Until she pulled away, that is.

"Ouch!" she screamed. "If we can't even touch each other without being shocked, what makes you think you can kiss me?! That _hurt!"_ He actually didn't know why he'd done it.

_To prove a point?_ he pondered,_ or to find out if it's true?_

"I don't know what I was thinking, actually," he muttered, running his fingers through his angel blond locks and then touching them to his tingling lips.

"Well, next time think before you pull crap like that!" she exclaimed, storming away toward the Suburban. She would've never admitted it to him, but aside from the shock, she'd found it almost…amazing. Sarah brushed her fingers across her lips, the light static still dancing across them, and quietly wondered why they couldn't touch each other without it hurting.

It was almost like fate was laughing at them. Destiny wanted them to meet, but fate couldn't let destiny have its way so easily, so it sent along a little "gift" for them both. _More like a curse,_ Sarah thought dryly. She actually wished she could kiss him again. _But he'll be gone before long anyway. I can't get attached. If I don't get close to him, I can't get hurt._

She chuckled darkly at the irony of it all. Her lips, still tingling from Joshua's smooth, practiced touch, felt sweetly numb. The shock wasn't near enough to hurt; in fact, it felt almost magical. She was sure that no one else could ever top the sensation his lips left on hers. She sighed.

Why did he make her feel so… Confused?

"It's because you're Nisai," he murmured out of earshot, as if hearing her thoughts. "I was right all along. You really are her."


End file.
